Blog

“Toy Story” helped launch Pixar when it premiered in 1995. More than 30 years and four films later, the family franchise has become a revenue-generating juggernaut for the Walt Disney Company and the global economy. The series has added $51 billion in overall economic activity since its inception, according to a study that Disney commissioned from Steward Redqueen, an independent impact advisory firm.

Much of that figure comes from consumer product sales, which Steward Redqueen argues lifts suppliers, retailers, small businesses and service providers. That includes everything from salaries to the sales of clothing, dolls and games touting “Toy Story” characters. It also factors in transportation, tourism, manufacturing, and utilities revenues related to seeing the movies, visiting theme park attractions and producing “Toy Story” merchandise. The report comes as “Toy Story 5” has dominated the box office since it was released in June, earning more than $880 million globally. In addition to ticket sales, the series is also the most streamed franchise on Disney+.

In terms of direct economic impact for Disney, Buzz and Woody have generated $16.2 billion. That includes the sale of merchandise, movie tickets and home entertainment rentals. That figure is more than it cost the company to buy all of Pixar, Marvel and Lucasfilm combined (Disney shelled out $15.4 billion to purchase those brands).

“This is our No. 1 animated franchise,” says Asad Ayaz, Disney’s chief brand officer. “I don’t think there’s many other franchises that have been embraced by audiences and critics over the course of three decades. People who were kids when the first movie came out are taking their own children to the new ‘Toy Story.’”

The study also looks at the multi-generational impact of “Toy Story.” As Ayaz states, because the series has been part of the culture for so long, Millennials, who grew up with the characters, have driven the greatest impact with 74%. Gen Z and Gen Alpha account for 19% and 7% of the economic impact, respectively.

Nearly $25 billion of the overall economic impact occurred in the U.S., Steward Redqueen reports, with California and Florida, where Disney has theme parks, as well as Texas, New York and Illinois listed as the states enjoying the biggest benefits from the franchise. The firm casts a wide net to capture those numbers. It estimates sales margins for downstream suppliers like manufacturers, retailers, and other distributors. So, for example, it factors in what movie theaters spend on popcorn providers, which allows those vendors to also earn profits, pay taxes and pay salaries.

Steward Redqueen said to come up with its calculations it looked at consumer spending on the “Toy Story” franchise across movies, home streaming, consumer products, parks, experiences and music. It then separated those figures in terms of their direct and indirect impact. Direct impact captured the economic contributions directly generated by the franchise’s operations (such as the economic contributions supported by production of the movies). Indirect impact includes the economic contributions supported by the franchise through its suppliers and sales partners (distributors and retailers selling “Toy Story” products), as well as their respective suppliers. This is the first study of its kind that Disney has commissioned on one of its franchises.

With “Toy Story 5” topping the box office, it seems like a sixth film is inevitable.

“I’ll leave that up to the Pixar team,” Ayaz says. “I hope there is more. But what’s great about Pixar is that they wait until they have a story that is worth telling to make another movie.”

Belgian filmmaker Fabrice du Welz will preside over the jury for the international competition at the 79th Locarno Film Festival, part of a full slate of juries the festival has revealed across its sections.

Du Welz has made nine features that have screened at major festivals; Locarno has shown two of them, “Adoration” on the Piazza Grande in 2019 and “The Passion According to Béatrice,” out of competition in 2024. He is joined on the jury by Italian producer Marco Alessi, founder of Rome-based Dugong Films, whose credits include work with directors Stefano Savona, Yuri Ancarani and Rä di Martino and who produced Bertrand Mandico’s “Roma Elastica,” playing out of competition in Locarno this year. Rounding out the panel are French actor Lolita Chammah, whose career includes collaborations with Claude Chabrol, Werner Schroeter, Claire Denis, Claire Simon and Benoît Jacquot; Chilean actor Paulina García, who won the Silver Bear for “Gloria” in 2013; and Olivier Père, who previously served as artistic director at Locarno and as general delegate of the Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight, and who now heads the cinema unit at Arte France Cinéma as executive director, a post he has held since 2012.

The Filmmakers of the Present Competition, the section dedicated to emerging directors, will be judged by Tunisian actor, director and producer Afef Ben Mahmoud, who also directs the Gabès Cinéma Fen festival; Czech producer and director Radovan Síbrt, co-founder of production company Pink, whose credits include the Academy Award-winning “Mr. Nobody Against Putin” (2025); and filmmaker Margherita Spampinato, whose breakthrough feature “Sweetheart” (“Gioia Mia”) followed its selection in the section last year with a David di Donatello win, plus the Kering Women In Motion Emerging Talent Award, presented at Cannes.

Three filmmakers will judge the Leopards of Tomorrow section. Lebanese director, writer and actor Mounia Akl has had work presented at Cannes, Venice, Toronto and London. South African producer Steven Markovitz, a longtime force in regional independent cinema, counts “aKasha” (2018), “Rafiki” (2018), “Tug of War” (2021) and “Omen” (2023) among his credits. Italian director Antonio Piazza, who co-directed “Sicilian Letters” (“Iddu,” 2024) with Fabio Grassadonia, rounds out the panel; that film premiered in competition in Venice.

The First Feature jury, which awards the Swatch First Feature Award for the festival’s best debut, comprises Matthieu Darras, who runs the festival consultancy Tatino and brings programming experience from Cannes, Venice, San Sebastián and TorinoFilmLab; Sung Moon, a Jeonju International Film Festival programmer and former member of the Korean Film Council; and Swiss-Peruvian filmmaker Klaudia Reynicke, whose film “Queens” (“Reinas”) took the Prix du Public UBS at Locarno77 on its way to becoming Switzerland’s Oscar submission and a Swiss Film Awards winner.

The Pardo for Change jury, which recognizes films engaging with environmental, ethical, social and cultural issues, includes freelance war reporter and author Gianluca Grossi; Somali-Austrian filmmaker Mo Harawe, whose debut feature “The Village Next to Paradise” bowed in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard sidebar in 2024; and Seta Thakur, who leads communications and social innovation work at the Wyss Academy for Nature.

A separate jury will oversee the Locarno Kids Screenings, deciding the winner of the Locarno Kids Award la Mobiliare in the festival’s new competitive strand for feature films made for young viewers. This year, for the first time, 13 jurors between ages 11 and 15 will screen seven titles in the section before selecting a winner, meeting daily throughout the festival for a training program led by industry professionals.

Locarno artistic director Giona A. Nazzaro said: “Selecting those whose eyes will be watching the films in the competitive sections is a task that always brings out desires and emotions. The diversity of talent meets the diversity of perspectives. Ultimately, however, what matters most is a willingness to be surprised, to be amazed, and to embrace the unexpected. In this sense, we are proud that the films of the 79th edition can begin their journey out into the world accompanied by those talented creative figures who have agreed to share the adventure of the Locarno Film Festival with us.”

The 79th Locarno Film Festival runs Aug. 5-15.