Pixar’s Toy Story 5 opened at No. 1 on Nielsen’s U.S. streaming chart for the week of Sept. 21-27, 2026, with 1.54 billion viewing minutes on Disney+. Dividing the total by the film’s 102-minute runtime puts the debut at roughly 15.1 million full views.
That makes it the second-largest single-week total for a Disney+ movie this year. Zootopia 2 remains the 2026 benchmark at 1.72 billion minutes, set in March.
A No. 1 finish, with a caveat
The gap between the two Disney releases matters. Toy Story 5 landed about 180 million minutes behind Zootopia 2, so the chart-topping finish is strong but not a new high-water mark. For Disney, it confirms that a familiar franchise sequel can open near the top of the slate without setting a new record.
Nielsen’s streaming ratings only count U.S. viewing on TV sets, not phones, tablets or computers. The 15.1 million view figure is therefore a conservative floor; the cross-device audience is likely larger.
Retention is the more useful signal
Behind the Pixar title, the week’s most instructive comparison is between two returning series:
- Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story dipped just 8 percent to 1.36 billion minutes and moved ahead.
- Neagley fell about 30 percent to 1.25 billion minutes.
- Reacher held at 707 million minutes a week after its fourth season ended.
A small second-week decline usually means a show is keeping casual viewers or replacing them with new ones. A steeper fall often points to a launch spike driven by marketing or IP curiosity rather than sustained demand. A single-digit drop, like Monster’s 8 percent, is a strong signal: it suggests the core audience returned and new sampling didn’t evaporate. For media planners, that makes Monster the stickier reach vehicle on the current chart.
The rest of the top 10
Netflix placed two premieres in the overall top 10: Wonka’s The Golden Ticket at 854 million minutes and A Different World at 751 million. Paramount+’s MobLand returned with 364 million minutes after its season two premiere. On the acquired list, American Horror Story scored 763 million minutes as its 13th season premiered Sept. 24, with the three new episodes accounting for a third of that total. Gilmore Girls, now on Hulu, made its annual fall return at 512 million minutes.
On the movie chart, Prime Video’s The Love Hypothesis opened second with 414 million minutes, ahead of Netflix’s Unabomber at 407 million.
What to watch next
The next week’s numbers will show whether Toy Story 5 holds a large part of its debut audience or follows the usual animated-film drop. For streaming and advertising teams, the retention gap between Monster and Neagley is the better leading indicator than the No. 1 headline alone.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
