‘Toy Story 5’ Is Certified Fresh But Sits at the Lowest Rotten Tomatoes Score in Franchise History
The ‘Toy Story’ franchise has spent more than three decades setting a near-impossible standard for animated storytelling, so any new chapter arrives carrying an extraordinary amount of critical weight. From the moment Pixar first introduced Woody, Buzz, and their toy companions back in 1995, audiences and critics alike have held every sequel to an expectation that borders on unreasonable. That pressure has made the arrival of ‘Toy Story 5’ one of the most closely watched film releases of the summer.
This fifth installment centers on Bonnie receiving a Lilypad tablet as a gift, and her growing obsession with it makes the jobs of Woody, Buzz, Jessie, and the rest of the gang exponentially harder as they go head to head with an all-new threat to playtime. Lilypad is voiced by Greta Lee, with director Andrew Stanton and co-director Kenna Harris describing the film as “a hilarious and poignant journey exploring how our favourite legacy toys might respond to today’s world of technology.” The premise feels bracingly current, landing at a cultural moment when the debate around screen time and childhood development has never been louder.
Now, with reviews officially in, the film finds itself in a peculiar position. As of current counts, ‘Toy Story 5’ holds a Rotten Tomatoes score in the low-to-mid nineties, earning a Certified Fresh designation. The critics consensus on the site reads: “Proving that old toys can learn new tricks while reckoning with an era of endless screen time, ‘Toy Story 5’ largely sidesteps franchise fatigue by reaffirming that children everywhere still got a friend in these lovable characters.”
That certification, however, comes with an asterisk. For comparison, the original ‘Toy Story’ sits at a perfect 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, as does ‘Toy Story 2’, with ‘Toy Story 3’ at 98% and ‘Toy Story 4’ at 97%. The fifth installment is now the lowest-rated entry in the mainline series, though critics and fans have been quick to note that landing in the nineties is hardly a disaster. The real conversation is what that gap, however slim, reveals about the franchise’s ceiling.
Critical voices have been nuanced in their assessments. Writing for Variety, Owen Gleiberman described the film as a “nimble, moving and irresistible sequel,” arguing that where a lesser film would have staged a simple battle between old-school good guys and new-school screens, ‘Toy Story 5’ instead depicts technology as “a new metaphysical realm of the kiddie cosmos.” Other outlets were equally warm, with the film earning a 73 on Metacritic, landing in “generally favorable” territory.
Beyond the critical conversation, the film arrives with enormous commercial momentum. Early forecasts have placed ‘Toy Story 5’ on track for the biggest three-day domestic debut of 2026, with projections pointing to an opening weekend between $150 million and $175 million, which would represent the strongest opening in the entire franchise’s history. That range would top ‘Toy Story 4’s opening of $120.9 million, a film that went on to gross over $1 billion worldwide.
Director Stanton explained the film’s central thesis directly, saying that when tech enters the picture, “it wins. It happens to adults and kids. It just wins. So that was the more interesting slant to take.” It is a remarkably honest frame for a franchise built on the magic of imaginative play, and it may be exactly why even the critics who have minor reservations seem to admire the film’s ambition. Whether a fresh-but-franchise-low score will shift the way fans ultimately feel about ‘Toy Story 5’ in the years ahead is the question worth sitting with, so share your thoughts: is a score in the nineties still enough to satisfy your love for Woody and Buzz, or do you think the franchise has finally hit its creative ceiling?
