Pixar’s latest flop finds vindication in Korean box office by besting ‘Indiana Jones’ opening weekend

Elemental may not have the U.S. market on fire, but it has sparked an interest in Korea where the film is actually doing quite well. Pixar’s latest animation, which appears to be yet another take on Romeo and Juliet but with anthropomorphized elemental characters, has actually managed to overtake Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny in the country, improving on the week before.

Elemental may look beautifully animated, but it isn’t seeming to draw in Stateside crowds as it faces an underwhelming box office reception. Some have put this down to bad marketing, one that didn’t seem to know how to sell the film’s message properly resulting in the film appearing to be a classic forbidden romance and completely ignoring the immigrant coming to a big city angle altogether.

Despite having one of the lowest openings for any Pixar film ever, the elements have found a home on the other side of the world. Elemental is having a decent run in Korea, where it has seen growth in its third-week box office haul. Consequently, it easily overtook the fifth Indiana Jones film, which belongs to a franchise that resonates strongly with American theatregoers but perhaps less so with Korean.

Between Friday and Saturday, Elemental was reported to have earned $5.27 million, a 38 percent increase from the previous weekend. This has taken the film’s box office total in Korea to $16.9 million from 2.25 million spectators since it was released 19 days ago. In comparison, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny has only managed to pull in $2.86 million over the same weekend, bringing its five-day total up to $3.98 million.

Globally, neither film is doing all that well. Indiana Jones had a lower box office total from its preview showings than even The Flash which does not stand it in good stead. Its opening weekend has seen it earn the lower end of its $60 million prediction for North America, which is quite low considering this farewell to the iconic character cost close to a whopping $250 million to make. Disney cannot be happy at all considering this franchise was one of the reasons they bought Lucasfilm in the first place alongside Star Wars, and yet, it hasn’t even come close to reaping the same kind of reward.

Whilst Elemental may have a footing in Korea, the fact that neither film has performed as executives would have hoped on home ground must have Disney concerned.