To Infinity and Beyond: The Necessity of Toy Story 4'

As franchises grow longer in the tooth, it's become standard practice for them to abandon numerical designations that might too bluntly remind fans of their lengthy runs. However, Pixar has been bucking this trend with their recent slew of sequels. In 'Toy Story 4,' Woody and the gang are now settled in with Bonnie, and a family road trip sets off an adventure that forces Woody to confront not only post-Andy life but also post-kid life.

Directed by veteran Pixar animator Josh Cooley, Toy Story 4 is far from a blatant cash grab. Despite receiving criticism for its necessity, the film boasts a 99% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. We're at a point where three is no longer the magic number, and audiences might not actually need Toy Story 4 but theaters desperately do.

According to senior box office analyst Jeff Bock of Exhibitor Relations, it's difficult for any studio, even Disney, to leave $1 billion on the table. The Walt Disney release is widely expected to make about $150 million over the weekend and gross close to $1 billion over its worldwide run, just like Toy Story 3 did.

For some, Woody is again coming to rescue. It's probably a fool's errand to wish for prudence from a corporate-made, multi-billion dollar property that was, from the outset, designed to sell as many toys as it jerks tears. But with its release this week, 'Toy Story 4' is likely to break a spell of underperforming sequels and provide some much-needed relief at the box office.

Toy story 4 to infinity and beyond