Pixar’s $3B Franchise Returns to Disney+ Charts 7 Years Later Ahead of New Entry

Pixar has built its legacy on sequels, and Toy Story remains one of the biggest franchises that endures despite all odds. Seven years after its release, the franchise has reappeared on Disney+ viewing charts, which is a reminder that even older entries in Pixar’s beloved roster have an evergreen quality that draws audiences to screens perennially.

Toy Story 4 has landed in 9th place on the U.S. Disney+ Most Watched Movies charts, and 5th place globally per FlixPatrol, which is a notable resurgence for a movie that released in 2019. In fact, it is holding steady in the Top 10 in 35 different regions across the world.

The first entry, 1995’s Toy Story, is in fourth place on the global charts and in 10th place in the U.S. This re-entry is not an accident either, as the timing lines up directly with the growing buzz ahead of the impending release of Toy Story 5 on June 19, 2026.

Toy Story Is a Massive Pixar Hit

Directed by Josh Cooley, Toy Story 4 earned $1.074 billion worldwide, making it one of Pixar’s biggest commercial successes. The film picked up where Toy Story 3 left off, following Woody as he grapples with his new life with Bonnie and confronts questions about purpose and belonging after a chance reunion with Bo Peep. It won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature and was praised for taking the franchise somewhere emotionally real and unexpected — especially with Woody’s choice in the end.

The first film grossed $373.5 million against a modest $30 million budget, and features a perfect 100% Certified Fresh score from critics and 92% from the audience.

What We Know About Toy Story 5

It was this ending that made the announcement of Toy Story 5 intriguing, because the fourth installment felt like a closed chapter in the franchise. The film is scheduled for release on June 19, 2026, with Andrew Stanton directing and both Stanton and Kenna Harris on the screenplay. Taylor Swift is attached to the movie, with an original song named “I Knew It, I Knew You”.

Toy Story 5 will reportedly feature Woody and Buzz together again, with a narrative exploring what happens when the toys face a world where children feel more inclined to play with digital devices and tablets, like Bonnie’s newest plaything: a frog-like tablet named Lilypad. It is a great concept that acknowledges the passage of time in the franchise, both for the characters and the audience who grew up watching, without depending purely on nostalgia.

This balance of great storytelling, nostalgia, and a connection to the real world is the balance that has kept the Toy Story franchise alive and kicking for three decades. The chart return of Toy Story 4 suggests audiences are ready to be reminded of that before the newest entry arrives. Whether Toy Story 5 can honor what came before while genuinely earning its place in the sequence is a question Pixar will have to answer this month.

The first four Toy Story films are streaming on Disney+, with Toy Story 5 hitting theaters on June 19.