‘Toy Story 4’ Delayed to 2018 + ‘Cars 3’ Takes June 2017 Spot

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on October 8, 2015

Earlier today, we covered the newly revealed release date for The Incredibles 2. Now we bring news of date changes for two other Pixar sequels.

As part of a news story that just broke today, Disney revealed new release dates for Toy Story 3 and Cars 3.

Toy Story 3 will sit out the 2017 year in animation and arrive in theaters the following year on June 15, 2018. Cars 3, which will now open on June 16, 2017, will take Toy Story 3‘s original spot.

Ever since its existence was revealed to the public last November, Toy Story 4 has been met with healthy amounts of anticipation and scorn. The love story angle (later revealed to be between Woody and Bo Peep) and the fact that the film will not be a direct continuation of the trilogy doesn’t help to tide the divisive response. Not to mention that John Lasseter’s last directorial effort was the first “bad” Pixar film (and that certainly doesn’t thrill people either). But Inside Out did show that Pixar is making a turnaround, so we’ll see how this turn of the tide will effect the quality of and response to Toy Story 4.

Suffice it to say, Cars 3 isn’t a very anticipated film by a long shot. As I mentioned above, Cars 2 sunk Pixar’s original winning streak (critically) and began the downward slump in reception for Pixar. Even the first Cars was only considered decent at best. But can Cars 3 turn that around and be great? Maybe. It will take a lot to regain whatever good was lost after the last film.

Stay tuned for more reports on the news-making announcement regarding Disney’s upcoming film slate.

What do you think? Are you looking forward to either film?

Edited by: Hannah Wilkes

Patrick Moffatt

This decision is rediculous JOHN! What a bummer we nw have to wait 3 whole years to return to the toy box for the 4th time! What a dissapointment !
Ryan Prieto

I’m glad that they are taking their time. I really don’t want to wait though.
- Anthony Raphael
  
  It’s not that they are taking their time, it’s the Walt Disney company, they had to push most of their movies, marvel had to move their movies yesterday as well just because they added ant man 2
Brittany

I don’t mind waiting for Toy Story 4, especially when the 3rd one was plenty satisfying as a finale. I have no doubt they’ll make it entertaining, but I’m pretty neutral about it right now. I have no interest in Cars 3, but I’m glad to see it won’t be the only Pixar movie of 2017, with the day of the dead movie coming out that year too, that will be interesting.
- Manuel Orozco
  
  I’m even more cautiously excited for Toy Story 4 more than I am for Cars 3
The Animation Commendation

I find it a bit surprising, but it’s not something that I’m going to complain about.
Nathan C.

This is a great decision! I want to watch a great Toy Story film. Not a mediocre one. They’ll have more time to work on the story, which is awesome.
Poor HTTYD3. DreamWorks moved it out of 2017 hoping it wouldn’t compete with TS4. Looks like they’re going back to the drawing board.
- brandon
  
  HTTYD 3 is fine. How often is it that two blockbuster features are released a mere few weeks from each other?
  
  In this day and age, VERY often.
  - Nathan C.
    
    True, but HTTYD 3’s situation is a little different. The last one underperformed domestically in the box office despite having zero competition. It’s almost a given Toy Story will detract attention from that audience, even if it’s impact is minimal.
    - brandon
      
      Eh. It’s not like HTTYD is an indie film. It’s one of the bigger and more iconic animated franchises out there. Even when it ‘underperformed’, it still made serious money.
      
      I wouldn’t fret for either TS3 of HTTYD3. I would fret for any other animated film that has to be in the Summer ring with them.
      - rbrtck
        
        Unless that other animated film were Despicable Me 3, which both TS4 and HTTYD3 have now steered clear of, leaving Cars 3 in its merciless clutches instead. 😉
        
        At least according to current plans, The Lego Movie Sequel will be released fairly close to them in mid-May. Do you fret for it, or is that enough of a gap, or is there enough room at the box office for all three in any case?
      - brandon
        
        Again, The LEGO Movie Sequel is in close capacity to other animated event films, but it helps that it’s also an animated event film, so I wouldn’t worry about it either
      - rbrtck
        
        In general I tend to think that “cannibalization” between movies, even ones in the same basic market segment, is frequently overstated, so I agree that there probably will be enough “room” for all of these to thrive.
        
        Interestingly, going in accordance with their predecessors, The Lego Movie Sequel will probably be stronger in the domestic market, while HTTYD3 will probably be stronger in the overseas market, so they may at least partially “play nice” in this regard (if there is any cannibalization going on at all). TS4 will probably be more balanced in this respect, although for a movie so big, TS3 was slightly more successful in the domestic market than usual, if anything (typical for Pixar).
  - rbrtck
    
    That’s true enough. Among animated features, this year has a great example with Inside Out and Minions, and 2013 had Monsters University and Despicable Me 2 (followed by Frozen later that year, so the audience still hadn’t been tapped dry).
- rbrtck
  
  Hmmm, a strategic coup de grâce from one of Katzenberg’s biggest “fans,” perhaps? Nah, he wouldn’t go that far…would he? 😉
  - Nathan C.
    
    I wouldn’t call myself a DreamWorks fan persay, but there are films I really like from the company. Like HTTYD, Peabody, Sinbad, and El Dorado.
    - rbrtck
      
      Sorry, I was actually making an oblique, tongue-in-cheek reference to John Lasseter’s personal enmity/grudge against Jeffrey Katzenberg for that stunt JK pulled in 1998, releasing Antz ahead of A Bug’s Life (despite getting a much later start) in an apparent attempt to steal Pixar’s thunder, so to speak. Allegedly JL trusted JK, whom he considered a personal friend at the time, early on with the knowledge that Pixar was making a movie involving ants, and JK then used this knowledge to try to upstage Disney through their partnership with Pixar. JL took it personally (not surprising if this was really what happened), and I was jokingly suggesting here that perhaps TS4 being moved near HTTYD3 is part of a revenge plot by JL. 😉 I seriously doubt it, but….you never know! 😉
Mr. Lambert

Obviously the main problem here isn’t Cars 3 but rather that Pixar is releasing 3 sequels in 3 consecutive years (besides Coco but that’s before) but I guess when you’re own by Disney, the amount of sequels are inevitable. I just hope they get back to their roots again
- Iftekhar Ahmed
  
  Isn’t it ironic that Disney’s premier studio is releasing original movies till 2018?
- Manuel Orozco
  
  They’ll go back to their original roots in the next decade
Haley Gilbertson

My Reaction to Toy Story 4 being moved back more: Ehhhhhh I am not really thrilled about it existing but I guess they’ll maybe do something cool with it maybe

My Reaction to Cars 3 being moved up more than Toy Story 4: *facepalm* (Nothing else to say but facepalm)
- rbrtck
  
  For all I know, Toy Story 4 could turn out great, but at this point I’m not excited about the general concept, either. Instead of Pixar’s usual MO of “What if?” it seems as though we’re getting “Would he? Would she?” instead. Or maybe it’s “Woody? Would she?” 😉
- Mag Mac
  
  I had the same reaction! Thank goodness, I’m not alone!
Octaviano Macias

I’m fine with this, I’m amongst the few, but I really loved Cars 2, so screw it bring it on, on the bright side for the haters, if it sucks it’s not like they’re ruining a better film
- rbrtck
  
  I don’t think much of Cars 2, personally, but I’ll vote your post up for saying what you really think. 🙂
  - Octaviano Macias
    
    Well thanks for your kindness 🙂
  - Manuel Orozco
    
    I’m upvoting too
- Renard N. Bansale
  
  Yes.
rbrtck

I can understand the disappointment, but maybe the simple fact is that Toy Story 4 happens to need more time than Cars 3, due to story issues and/or any number of other reasons. At least they were able to make this swap instead of forcing a delay and messing up the production and release schedules yet again, like they had to do with The Good Dinosaur.
- cetrata
  
  Toy story 4 would still probably will against despicable me 3 though it would have been close race.
  - rbrtck
    
    It’s impossible to predict, of course. Both could be huge, whether or not they’re released around the same time. Or, since they’re both the fourth movie in their respective franchises, they could decline, especially in the domestic market where people tend to tire of sequels more quickly than in most other markets (interestingly enough). Who knows, Despicable Me 3’s prospects could have been hurt by people not actually liking Minions (the movie) all that much, despite the fact that it’s a mega-blockbuster. And Toy Story 4 could be hurt by the fact that most people considered Toy Story 3 the final chapter. They’ll always come back for more Toy Story, but will it be at anywhere near the same level in theaters this time around? For a romance between toys and a search for lost loved ones, the latter of which many will have already seen in Finding Dory by then? You never know, but there is some room for doubt, even with such strong franchises.
    
    This is meaningless, but if I had to take an almost completely wild guess, I would say that they’ll both probably decline in the domestic market, with Toy Story 4 coming in ahead. The overseas and especially the worldwide markets are even harder to predict, but they could possibly stay the same or increase in the former, and stay the same or decline in the latter; the race between the two movies will probably be close worldwide, with Despicable Me 3 probably coming in ahead overseas. Actually, anything is possible.
- Manuel Orozco
  
  I think Toy Story 4 needed some more time as well. Messing up production by the way is the main reason Good Dinosaur didn’t turn out to be great but still enjoyable.
Iftekhar Ahmed

As the saying goes, they save the best for last! Honestly, Planes was more enjoyable than Cars and that was by DisneyToon Studios. Pixar, you better make sure that Cars 3 actually has some emotional value, otherwise, you’re going to get to get your very first “commercial failure!”.
- rbrtck
  
  They’re flirting with that possibility just by making another Cars sequel at all, but think of the merchandise! Oh, the merchandise! Puke.
  
  As for Planes, actually I thought that the sequel, Planes: Fire & Rescue, was better in a number of ways, but it totally flopped despite the original grossing a decent amount (for its cost). Sometimes when people don’t like the last movie much, they won’t even give the next one a chance.
  - Iftekhar Ahmed
    
    I’m pretty sure additional merchandising can be made without a movie being released (look at the Disney Princess lineup for instance).
    
    As far as Planes: Fire and Rescue goes, I’m not surprised it bombed. The trailer did not depict it as a very interesting movie to begin with. DisneyToon Studio better have learned its lesson by not piggy-backing on the success of Disney Animation and PIXAR franchises.
    - rbrtck
      
      Periodically boosting merchandise sales was why several Tinker Bell movies were made instead of just the first. Judging from the video sales figures, Disney sure weren’t doing it just for the latter because each one actually lost money (especially Legend of the NeverBeast–wow, did it sell poorly!), which the merchandise sales more than made up for, at least for a while.
      
      The Disney Princess(TM) merchandise franchise started out by mining a ton of existing intellectual property, but even it gets a periodic boost from new, relevant movies as they happen to come along. Synergy, especially at Disney’s level, practically demands that success in one area or medium be followed up by success (or attempted success) in another area or medium for mutual, sustaining support, and that’s why I think Cars 3 is being made. Disney aren’t going to wait for its merchandise sales to decline significantly before refreshing the public’s awareness and interest, and movie sequels are often a major part of that goal.
      
      And as for DTS learning their lesson, it’s Disney management who need to adapt–DTS were simply doing as they were told. Their whole reason for being has been to play a supporting role for franchises, whether it’s making sequels/spin-offs directly for profit or primarily as major marketing tools for Disney Consumer Products. Even WDAS and Pixar get caught up in this game every so often, and they can actually push back as primary creators of intellectual property (they try to maintain artistic integrity, but have to pick their battles, and sometimes they have to play along), but DTS really don’t have any such clout. It will be interesting to see whether they’ll be given a longer leash now or be forced to expressly, directly support merchandise sales every time (I suspect it will be the latter). Even Pixar and WDAS have to sometimes, though–it’s part of Disney’s famous/infamous synergy and “ecosystem.”
Matthew Latham

I really think Cars 3 will be good. They know what went wrong with the second, and won’t be doing it again.
- Britney
  
  I hope with Cars 3 they fix everything and make a real sequel for the original Cars because Cars 2 was a disaster
- True Fan
  
  Just so you both know, nobody or almost nobody at Pixar thinks they did a bad job with Cars 2. John Lasseter and pretty much everyone at the studio believes they made a great movie with both Cars and Cars 2. I would warn you to be prepared for something wildly different from what we’ve seen before, much like Cars 2 did.
  
  Thankfully, this isn’t a problem for me since I loved both, and I know Cars 3 will be really good. And Toy Story 4 will be perfect…
  - Manuel Orozco
    
    If they believe with all their hearts they tried to make something we all can enjoy, I believe too.
- Manuel Orozco
  
  Well I did think Cars 2 was better than the original. However, I agree we deserve a true next chapter in the life of Lightning and friends.
Max den Hartog

Couldn’t care less for either one..
- Fadi Antwan
  
  Not Toy Story 4? Why? Is it because you didn’t want another sequel or never liked the franchise?
  - Max den Hartog
    
    I LOVE the Toy Story films, but a fourth one simply isn’t necessary. I’d much rather see Pixar (and John Lasseter (direct)) do something original, fresh and new.
    - Britney
      
      I’m totally with you, I don’t want them to ruin it with another one
    - Fadi Antwan
      
      I get where you’re coming from. I NEVER wanted another Toy Story sequel, but the first three were all so perfect and amazing in my opinion, that I can’t even fathom not seeing the fourth one. And if you truly love the franchise as well, I don’t see how you can be totally apathetic towards it either. But I feel that you’ll watch it either way. 😀
      (hopefully)
      - Max den Hartog
        
        I’ll probably see it in theaters as well, but I just wish this would’ve been a TV special or something. The story simply doesn’t sound feature film worthy..
Harith Sami

At first HTTYD3 it was at the same release date of finding dory & despicable me 3 so they delay it to 2017 when pixar’s movie was “untitled pixar movie” that was safe until TOY STORY 4, so they push it to 2018, and now toy story moves to them.
Toy story 3 is the reason that the first film under-preformed in the box office.
They might just push it because dreamworks lost the lost the chance with their last few films and they fired 36% of the company, OK we love pixar but please don’t kill dreamworks they have good quality in some of there films :'(
- rbrtck
  
  I think that DWA had to push many of their release dates out anyway because of the downsizing.
  
  As for the original HTTYD underperforming, I don’t think that it did. It opened nearly three months before TS3, and in the domestic market it had grossed about $214M by the time TS3 opened. HTTYD opened relatively low for some reason but enjoyed a very leggy run despite being followed by TS3, so that was probably about all that it was going to gross anyway (final tally including second-run theaters: nearly $218M). Its overseas gross was not as strong, but it wasn’t chump change, either, and it’s not unusual for an original movie to struggle overseas (collectively, foreign audiences tend to prefer going to see a known quantity when they have to pay for theater tickets, at least in comparison to Americans and Canadians).
  
  Now, if we look at HTTYD2’s domestic box office performance last summer, it actually grossed significantly less than the original, despite having practically no direct competition, which to me casts doubt on the notion that the original movie was hurt by the competition at all. HTTYD2’s overseas gross made up for its domestic underperformance, but that’s a different matter (they sure do love sequels overseas), and I think the point has been made.
  
  While I don’t think that TS4 will necessarily hurt HTTYD3, if DWA think so then they could always try to claim an earlier date like they did for the original HTTYD, at least in the domestic market. Disney and Pixar will do whatever they need to do in order to help themselves–what happens to DWA is really none of their concern, one way or another.
  - Harith Sami
    
    I didn’t meant that TS3 hurt HTTYD only by box office (some people attempt to see only one film a year in a cinema) but also by awards & other nominations, if how to train your dragon released in different year it will probably win the oscars or ammy awards for best animated film.
    - Manuel Orozco
      
      I’m sure we will get HTTYD 3 going in 2018 on schedule. We also have to compete with the Lego Movie Sequel
Britney

I’m soooo excited about Cars 3, with the disaster that Cars 2 was, I
think that they NEED to fix it somehow, whether you like it or not,
because if you forget about Cars 2, the original Cars film was pretty
amazing. It had a lot of emotion, great animation, great scenes, the
part where McQueen drives and sees the waterfall, that was so beautiful
work that Pixar made and when he has to leave town being in love and
separating him from friends that he just made. that was a very emotional
scene if you look it from the character’s POV. But don’t forget the
humour it has, To me Cars was the funniest Pixar’s film ever! but also
the story of Route 66 was very interesting. So it was a good story
full of heart and remember that it’s something special for John
Lasseter. Cars 1 to me was perfect as any other Pixar film. They teaches
us they can animate anything, so here we have cars animated, and what’s
so wrong with that? if there’s a good story behind it you need to focus
on the situations and the character’s feelings, like in every Pixar
film! So if Cars 3 has a story written from the heart then I’m already
running to the theatres as soon as posible…
Manuel Orozco

Ok I’m not a big Cars fanatic so I’m not in favor of 3 taking over from Toy Story 4 for 2018.