Toy Story 4 breaks global box office record for animation

Toy Story 4, the long-awaited fourth film in the animated franchise, has broken global box office records for an animated movie.

It earned $238m (£187m) since opening worldwide over the weekend, performing particularly well in Latin America and Europe.

The film struggled in China, however, and also failed to meet expectations in the US, where its $118m (£93m) fell short of a predicted $140m (£110m).

It comes 24 years after the first film.

Film audiences' introduction to Sheriff Woody (voiced by Tom Hanks) and Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) and their band of fellow toys in 1995 went on to make $395m (£310m) at the global box office.

It's been nine years since Toy Story 3 opened to rave reviews and became the first animated film to gross over $1 billion worldwide in ticket sales.

There were some fears the latest instalment could underperform as many fans felt the third movie wrapped up the series so perfectly.

However, the new film - which sees Woody, Buzz and the gang joined by a new homemade toy called Forky - has been warmly reviewed with a 98% fresh rating on critical aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes.

Other new toys in the film include doll Gabby Gabby (Christina Hendricks), Bunny and Ducky (Jordan Peele and Keegan-Michael Key) and stunt motorbike rider Duke Caboom (Keanu Reeves).

In a widely-viewed Twitter thread, US journalist Mark Harris suggested the fact the star-studded film failed to match expectations was because "endless brand extensions are starting to bore people".

Despite failing to match more enthusiastic box office predictions, Toy Story 4 ranks as the fourth-biggest US opening for an animated movie behind Incredibles 2, Finding Dory and Shrek the Third.

The film also set a UK record, opening with $15m (£12m) for the three-days, the highest ever for an animation.

Toy Story 4 is yet to open in many markets such as France, Germany, Italy, and Japan.

It's also only the third film in 2019 to pass $100m during its opening weekend in the US. The other two, Captain Marvel and Avengers: Endgame are also Disney releases.