A Disney holiday shake-up has occurred, as the House of Mouse makes a major change to its 2027 release slate. Of course, fans are only just starting to think about the 2026 Disney schedule, with big-name titles like Avengers: Doomsday and Toy Story 5 on the docket, but 2027 is already shaping up to be notable in its own unique way.
2027 will see the release of even more A-list blockbusters from the 102-year-old Hollywood mainstay. Part of these plans has been the long-awaited Gatto from the animation masterminds at Pixar. Gatto, a new original title from the beloved studio, following an unlikely feline hero who has to go on a quest to pay back a local mob boss, was originally slated to be released in Pixar's typical blockbuster summer slot, but that is no longer the case.
As confirmed by Deadline, Pixar's Gatto has been moved up from its original June release date to March 5, 2027. The animated blockbuster was initially slated to hit the big screen on June 18, 2027.
This marks a significant shift in Disney's release schedule and could signal a lack of confidence in the movie. Typically, Pixar's biggest films come out in that June slot. Hit titles like Inside Out 2, Toy Story 4, and Cars 3 all came to theaters smack-dab in the middle of summer blockbuster season. Even next year's Toy Story 5, which is expected to be one of the 2026's biggest box office earners, has been scheduled for a June release.
See below for several Pixar movie June releases over the last decade:
- Toy Story 5 - June 19, 2026
- Inside Out 2 - June 14, 2024
- Elemental - June 16, 2023
- Lightyear - June 17, 2022
- Toy Story 4 - June 21, 2019
- Incredibles 2 - June 15, 2018
- Cars 3 - June 16, 2017
- Finding Dory - June 17, 2016
Among those titles listed above, each was either seen as a potential box office hit or was an outright box office hit. The only outlier was Lightyear, which failed to chart critically and financially, but given its ties to the uber-successful Toy Story franchise, Disney was bullish on its potential, thus, why the film was released in its tentpole June slot.
2027 is set to be another major year for Disney movies, with several significant movies confirmed to release so far from Pixar, Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm, and more of their major studios. Some of those major movies include:
Disney's 2027 Theatrical Release Schedule
- Ice Age: Boiling Point - February 5th, 2027
- Gatto - March 5th, 2027
- Star Wars: Starfighter - May 28th, 2027
- Bluey: The Movie - August 6th, 2027
- The Simpsons 2 - September 3rd, 2027
- Frozen 3 - November 24th, 2027
- Avengers: Secret Wars - December 17th, 2027
Gatto's comes from Luca director Enrico Casarose. The new animated adventure takes place in a painterly version of Italy, marking the seventh Pixar movie set outside the United States. Gatto remains the last known Pixar movie date on the Disney calendar, with upcoming sequels Coco 2 and The Incredibles 3 still lacking a specific release date.
Why Did Disney Movie Gatto's Release?
To this point, Gatto was supposed to be Pixar's tentpole release for 2027. However, now, that becomes more of a question than it was before. The film still is the only Pixar movie set to hit the big screen in 2027, but pulling it out of that June date should be a cause for pause.
The most likely reason for this move is that Disney has seen something and does not feel the new film is ready for a stage as big as the hyper-competitive summer blockbuster season. That does not necessarily mean the movie will not be good. It still very well could be. It may simply mean the studio is trying to maximize box office potential and views Gatto as more of an early spring movie rather than a summertime heavyweight.
June 2027 is shaping up to be huge in the world of big-name blockbuster storytelling. Universal recently dated its live-action How to Train Your Dragon sequel for that month, Shrek 5 was just delayed there, and (after years of waiting) Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse is also pegged for then.
These three movies alone are going to suck up much of the oxygen in the movie-going world. If Disney was not 100% confident Gatto could stack up with those other heavy-hitters, then the movie was probably the right move.
