Pixar's 'Cars' brought in so much money they basically HAD to make the sequel! See how much they made

Pixar's 'Cars' is a well-known animated movie featuring talking cars geared towards small children. When 'Cars' was released in 2006, the marketing and advertisements were spotted everywhere to get the name out there. What the marketing director and promoters didn't realize was that they were selling a whole company and not just a movie.

Opening weekend for 'Cars' was a disappointment and barely brought in a modest amount of money compared to other Pixar hits. 'Cars' brought in $461 million in theatrical revenue.

The expected number of movie ticket sales may have been disappointing, but like any other Pixar movie, they had to begin merchandising. Movie companies need to make novelty gifts, toys, clothing etc. That are movie themed, so that fans of the movie can purchase them and bring in extra revenue.

Pixar films launched their global merchandising products and were blown away by the result. In the next five years after the theatrical release of 'Cars', the merchandise sales reached over $8 billion dollars! This is the most revenue by a single film, ever.

Due to this success, the producers saw no choice but to make a sequel and try to do it all over again. 'Cars' 2 was released in 2011 and grossed over 200 million in theatrical sales.

(Source)