Toy Story 5 Surpasses $606 Million Worldwide While Offering In-Theater Director's Commentary via TheaterEars App

Toy Story 5 viewers can now listen to director Andrew Stanton's live commentary while watching the film in theaters.

For the first time with a Toy Story film, audiences can hear director and screenwriter Andrew Stanton narrate his own movie while sitting in the theater. The commentary is available through the TheaterEars app, which syncs audio to the film playing on screen so viewers can listen through their own earphones during a standard theatrical screening. The feature launched alongside the film's theatrical run. TheaterEars has previously offered similar commentary experiences for other titles, including Project Hail Mary and The Mandalorian and Grogu, making Toy Story 5 its latest high-profile partnership. Meanwhile, Toy Story 5 has proven to be a massive box office success, grossing over $606 million worldwide just two weeks after release. The film is now on track to surpass $1 billion, which would make it the third entry in the franchise to reach that milestone and extend Disney's 16-year box office streak. Its strong performance is attributed to its star-studded cast and a promotional partnership with Taylor Swift.

Why it matters

In-theater commentary tracks represent a novel way to add value to the theatrical experience at a time when studios are looking for ways to differentiate cinema from streaming. The approach lets curious viewers get a director's insight on opening weekend rather than months later on a home video release.

What's next

No specific information was provided about how long the commentary will remain available or whether additional commentary tracks are planned.

Key facts

• Director and screenwriter Andrew Stanton provides the commentary track for Toy Story 5
• The commentary is delivered through the TheaterEars app, synced to the in-theater screening
• The feature launched this weekend, coinciding with the film's theatrical run
• TheaterEars previously offered commentary tracks for Project Hail Mary and The Mandalorian and Grogu
• Viewers listen through their own earphones during a standard theatrical showing

Bias & framing notes

One source (Newsbreak) was behind a paywall and provided no usable reporting. Gizmodo framed the story as an exclusive, while WDWNT reported it straightforwardly. Both Gizmodo and WDWNT agree on the core facts — TheaterEars, Andrew Stanton, and the weekend launch — but neither source provided extensive detail about the app's pricing or specific launch dates.

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