We're offering a 2-week trial of WrapPRO for $1. If you’ve been wanting to check out our full coverage, now’s the time. Greetings!While animated franchises like "Zootopia 2" have soared, original animated films have struggled over the last few years, raising questions about the viability of the medium in theaters. But in 2026, nearly every major studio has an original animated feature slated, making this a do-or-die year for animation. Original animated films are hugely important to a studio slate. As our Drew Taylor writes, these projects feed a larger ecosystem of consumer products, theme park attractions, merch and "Fortnite" skins, and can become the billion-dollar franchises of the future. And consumers are craving something fresh. A survey taken by the National Research Group in conjunction with TheWrap about their thoughts on 2026 found that 72% of viewers want more original films and 43% believe there are too many franchises. (You can view the whole report here.) Last year saw original films like "Sinners" and "Weapons" break out, while animated original "KPop Demon Hunters" became Netflix's biggest streaming movie. Some of the sequels returning this year, from "Toy Story 5" to "Minions 3" are getting a bit long in the tooth as well. The industry is keen to reverse lessons families took during the pandemic, when many of the big-budget animated films like Pixar's "Soul" and Sony Pictures Animation's "The Mitchells vs. The Machines" went straight to streaming. With the price for taking a family out to the movies, it's no surprise they're gravitating toward sure-fire bets like the "Zootopia" or "Moana" franchises and waiting for original films to hit streaming. But in order for animation studios to flourish, audiences need to understand that top-tier original animated content is playing in their local multiplex, not simply through their streaming services. Roger Cheng 
The last few years have seen several big swings — and misses — when it comes to original animation. Looking at the chart below, big-budgeted projects like last year's "Elio" and 2022's "Strange World" flopped at the box office... 
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