Pixar grabs the top spot at the box office with Toy Story 5, as horror cinema continues to flood French theaters.
Toy Story 5 kicked off with explosive momentum in North America, taking in $160 million over its opening weekend — the best domestic start of 2026. In France, the fifth installment of Woody, Buzz and the gang also began with strong numbers, selling 1,005,969 admissions and averaging 1,545 admissions per screen, the best among releases that week. That said, its debut isn’t as formidable as it is across the Atlantic.
First off, it’s only the fifth-best opening of the year, just behind The Devil Wears Prada (1,032,555) but well short of the 1.3 million for Michael, 1.4 million for Marsupilami, and especially the 1.8 million for Super Mario Galaxy, which leads the pack. Moreover, compared with the rest of the Toy Story saga, Toy Story 5 records only the third-best start. Toy Story 4 opened with 1.5 million tickets, while Toy Story 3 drew in 1.2 million.
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Is this a warning sign for Toy Story 5? Not really. The film landed in French theaters during a highly favorable window to maximize attendance — between the start of summer vacation and Cinema Day (June 28–July 1). Beyond that, it could benefit from the sweltering heat gripping the country, with cinemas often serving as a cool refuge for moviegoers trying to beat the heat (or beat the home temperature woes).
Speaking of scares, Kane Parsons’ Backrooms took the second spot. For its arrival in theaters, the horror film made a striking impression with nearly half a million admissions across only 326 screens, averaging a staggering 1,489 admissions per screen (in the wake of Toy Story 5). It registers as the ninth-best opening of the year, ahead of Scream 7 (455,956) and well ahead of other horror titles from recent weeks (for instance, Obsession began with 217,435).
With its massive worldwide success — the film has already grossed over $300 million against a reported budget of $10 million — it looks poised to cross the million-admissions mark in France with ease.
In third place sits The Battle of Gaulle: The Iron Age, which is showing a bit of life. After a disastrous start and a difficult second week, the Gaullist biopic’s first half is rebounding. In its third week, the film gained 17.2% more audience (versus the prior week), bringing its total to about 890,586 admissions as it closes in on the million-mark.
That uptick also coincides with a larger print run, rising from 613 to 719 copies — a 17.2% increase. Will this small lift be enough to salvage the numbers? Probably not given the €75 million budget for the two-film project. Will it help the second installment, The Battle of Gaulle: I Write Your Name, whose release was moved up to June 26 amid the ongoing crisis? Time will tell very soon.
To round out the top five, two other titles follow: Disclosure Day in fourth and Obsession in fifth. The Spielberg alien blockbuster benefits from a more attractive week at the cinema — with admissions up 41% versus the previous week — and manages to lose only 38% of its audience. It’s approaching 700,000 admissions and should hit one million by the end of its run. A notable milestone for the director since Ready Player One in 2018.
Meanwhile, Obsession crossed the symbolic one-million admission line (1,054,006) in its sixth week, while continuing to post solid numbers with 124,184 more admissions — a modest 22.8% dip. This underdog has even managed to outpace the big-hitter The Mandalorian & Grogu. In ninth place, the new Star Wars entry crawls past the million-admission mark after five weeks (1,034,798) on 875 screens, averaging just 69 admissions per screen, a surprisingly low pace by comparison.
Rounding out the box office, alongside the success of Toy Story 5, another eye-catching performance comes from a French animated film, Jim Queen. With only 95 screens, the film has tallied more than 77,000 admissions, an average of 818 admissions per screen — the third-best figure of the week.
