‘Elemental’ was written off as a box-office flop. Then it sprouted legs

Lite Version

When “Elemental” opened to less than $30 million in the US in mid-June, box-office analysts and reporters were quick to label the animated movie a “flop,” one that was almost sure to lose money.

The animated love story is [now] bearing down on $150 million in the US, meaning it will have earned five times its opening-weekend total – a multiple no Pixar movie has achieved since the original “Toy Story.”