| This idea is a joke.
|
| “ | After 20 years… they’re all about to die. | „ |
| ~ Main tagline. |
| “ | The adventure for survival begins. | „ |
| ~ Second tagline. |
The Peppa Pig Movie is a 2024 American-British animated post-apocalyptic action-adventure dark comedy film based on the long-running animated preschool series Peppa Pig created by Neville Astley and Mark Baker, and owned by Hasbro. The film is directed by Rhys Frake-Waterfield, produced by Astley and Baker, and written by Waterfield and Mike White from a story by Waterfield, and distributed by Paramount Pictures and produced by Karrot Animation, Hasbro Entertainment, Nickelodeon Movies, and Frake-Waterfield’s Jagged Edge Productions. The film replaces the show’s original voice cast in favor for an all-celebrity cast, with Anya Taylor-Joy starring as the titular character, alongside Chris Pine, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Paul Rudd, Chris Evans, Jordan Peele, Kate McKinnon, Tina Fey, TJ Miller, Mindy Kaling, Zoe Saldana, Kristen Wiig, Channing Tatum, Tom Holland, Helen Mirren, Peter Cullen, Julie Andrews, Patrick Stewart, Chris Pratt, Sarah Silverman, Chloë Grace Moretz, Dwayne Johnson, Michael Keaton, Awkwafina, Lucy Liu, Fred Armisen, Angela Bassett, Ron Perlman, and Vin Diesel, with Taika Waititi as the Narrator.
A darker, more satirically humorous self-parody of the series, the film follows a human named Rhys who arrives on Peppa Pig’s world, seeking to get her and her friends and all animals in the world extinct. Peppa must now rally her friends to survive against Rhys and stop his plans for extinction. Initial plans for a feature film based on the franchise began on April 6, 2023. Neville Astley and Mark Baker, the creators of the show, were originally set to write and direct the film after originally leaving the series on 2021. However on June, Paramount Pictures replaced Astley and Baker with Rhys Frake-Waterfield, who previously directed Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey, to make the film instead, wanting a darker and more satirical tone for the film in contrast to a light and faithful one. The show’s original voice actors were originally set to return, but Paramount decided to replace them with celebrities. As with the series, animation was done using CelAction.
The Peppa Pig Movie was theatrically released on May 31, 2024, on the 20th anniversary of the franchise. The film received generally negative reviews from critics, critizicing the generic animation, voice performances, plot, violent deaths, soundtrack, humor, dark tone and ending. Despite this, the film grossed $1.709 billion, surpassing The Lion King (2019) to become the highest-grossing animated film of all time, as well having the biggest opening weekend for an animated film ever, and becoming the highest-grossing film of 2024 and the eight-highest-grossing film of all time at the time of its release. A sequel, titled Peppa Pig: World War, was released on May 1, 2026.
Premise[]
The world’s decades-spanning cultural phenomenon for children and adults alike finally arrives on the big screen. Peppa Pig and her family and friends have always lived in peace, having had many adventures and wonderful days of play and loving. However, the biggest threat to their life emerges when a human called Rhys arrives to their world, seeking to get all the animals extinct. With her world collapsing and the stakes getting higher and higher, Peppa must now lead her family, friends and known ones on a battle for survival to stop Rhys’ plans for animal extinction.
Plot[]
It’s a sunny normal day in Peppa Pig’s house, and she and her brother George play in the house and mock Daddy Pig for his fatness, and also go out to to jump on Muddy Puddles. The rest of the day is pretty normal and joyful; Peppa and George play with their friends — Danny Dog, Pedro Pony, Susy Sheep, Rebecca and Richard Rabbit, Candy Cat, Zoe Zebra, Emily and Edmond Elephant, and Freddy Fox — and visit Granny Pig and Grandpa Pig, as well as Uncle Pig and Auntie Pig and Chloe Pig.
After all of that, Peppa and George and their friends, at their playgroup led by Madame Gazelle, go on a field trip to a place known as “the Ancient Lands”. At the Ancient Lands, the group learns about the first animal in the world, Poopa Pig, who was conveniently a pig and was Peppa and George’s great-great-great-grandfather. Peppa is happy for her significance in world history and begins annoying her friends about it, claiming that she deserves to rule the world one day. However, on the way back to the playgroup, the group is shocked to discover that the Playgroup building has been completely destroyed, and not just the rooftop this time.
Gazelle tries to check in on the rubble, but suddenly, a trap bomb explodes, killing her. Mrs. Rabbit, who drove the playgroup bus, is shocked at this and tries to call the police, but the bus also explodes, killing her, though Peppa and George and their friends luckily escaped in time. When Peppa and her friends’ parents come to pick them up, the kids tell them about what happened. At her home, Peppa, George, Mommy and Daddy Pig see on the news about a mysterious human named Rhys, who is trying to apparently get all animal citizens on the world extinct. Daddy says that he can help, but Peppa says that he can’t due to his fatness. Just then, the lights in the house go out, and Peppa and George are scared, though they calm down and decide to play with their friends outside.
When going outside, Peppa and George discover that Zoe Zebra and Candy Cat have been frozen solid after being attacked by Rhys, while the rest of the group survived the attack. They retreat and they debate on how to make a plan to strike back against Rhys. Danny Dog wants to use Freddy Fox’s dad’s truck to make a weapon to shoot against Rhys, but Pedro Pony wants to simply use his glasses to make fire on Rhys and burn him. The argument between the two is interrupted by Edmond Elephant, who has a very smart idea to build giant glasses out of Freddy’s dad’s truck (as Danny requested) to burn down Rhys (as Pedro requested). The group rides on their bikes and go to Freddy’s house, where they discover a note from Rhys that says that Freddy’s dad has been arrested for stealing stuff for his truck all this time and got killed afterwards. They also discover that the truck has been stolen and kept by Rhys in the Ancient Lands.
The group changes plans and decide to make the machine using Grandpa Pig’s tools, so they go to his house. On the way there, they find Daddy Pig, who wants to help Peppa, but she refuses to let him go with them, saying for the final time that he is too fat. Daddy is sad at this and feels that he can’t do anything. While the team works on Grandpa’s workshop, the place is bombed and attacked by Rhys, who meets Peppa for the very first time. They have a big battle, where Freddy Fox and Emily Elephant are killed, while Rebecca, Richard, and Edmond are captured by Rhys. Danny attempts to use the unfinished invention on Rhys before he can escape, but he accidentally ends up aiming the fire at Peppa, but Pedro sacrifices himself. In his final words, Pedro confesses his love to Peppa before she kisses him on the cheek. However, Danny is jealous.
Peppa, George, Danny, and Susy head to the Ancient Lands, where they find a lot of the animals that Peppa knew captured in cells, among them being Rebecca, Richard, Edmond, Dr. Brown Bear, Mr. Bull, Mr. Potato, Dr. Hamster, Policeman Stag, and others, as well as the Queen and Father Christmas, the only two previously-known humans in the world. Rhys arrives and explains that humans used to be the only beings that lived in the world, before Rhys decided to experiment with animals to turn them into anthropomorphic mutants. The first experimented animal, Poopa Pig himself, was successful, but the formula accidentally spread out throughout the world and mutated nearly all humans in the world and turned them into the anthropomorphic animals that live the most now, with the only remaining humans being Rhys, the Queen, Father Christmas, (the latter two having been forced to hide the truth of the human era of the world ever since), and Mr. Potato (revealing him as a human mutated into a potato as a result of an error in the mutation). Rhys has been hidden from the world for 20 years and has now decided to finally get all animals extinct and make a formula to recreate humans again using his DNA, as the mutation virus was incurable.
Rhys captures Peppa, George, Danny and Susy and forces Edmond and Mr. Potato in his Super Potato alter ego, using materials from Freddy’s dad’s truck, to create nuclear bombs around the world, activated to all explode in 10 minutes and destroy all animals at once. Mommy and Daddy Pig, at their home, are worried at Peppa and George not coming home yet. After seeing a news report from Rhys about the nuclear bombs, Daddy, knowing that he must save Peppa and George no matter what, finally believes in himself again and decides to hulk up, finally getting rid of his fat stomach and getting muscles and abdomen.
The new Daddy Pig
Daddy then runs to the Ancient Lands, where he manages to fight Rhys in a one-vs-one duel and knocks him unconscious by chocking him with his six-pack. Daddy then deactivates the nuclear bomb control, turning all the bombs off, and frees Peppa and her friends. However, Rhys wakes up and goes enraged, and reactivates the nuclear bombs with no way to set them off. Upon this, the animals realize that they are doomed.
While panicking, the animals find a nearby rocket and they all go inside it to escape from Earth and survive. However, at the last second, Peppa kicks all the animals out of the ship and keeps it for only herself, claiming that she will finally rule her own world as she foretold her friends at the beginning of the movie, and escapes from Earth alone. Afterwards, the nuclear bombs explode, killing Peppa’s family, her friends, and all anthropomorphic animals in the world, with only she having survived out of the situation.
Rhys is happy for his success and sees a sunset in silence. Meanwhile, Peppa arrives on a distant planet to settle her own life. The film ends with a reprise of the Peppa Pig theme song, sung by Peppa from her new planet.
Voice Cast[]
- Anya Taylor-Joy as Peppa Pig, George’s sister and Mommy and Daddy Pig’s daughter. She is the only character from the series who survives the events of this film.
- Chris Pine as George Pig, Peppa’s younger brother and Mommy and Daddy Pig’s son. He is killed in the ending when Rhys’ nuclear bombs are activated.
- Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Mommy Pig, Daddy Pig’s wife and Peppa and George’s mother. She is killed in the ending when Rhys’ nuclear bombs are activated.
- Paul Rudd as Daddy Pig, Mommy Pig’s fat husband and Peppa and George’s father. He is constantly fat-shamed by Peppa throughout the movie just like in the series. He is killed in the ending when Rhys’ nuclear bombs are activated.
- Chris Evans as Danny Dog, one of Peppa’s friends. He is killed in the ending when Rhys’ nuclear bombs are activated.
- Jordan Peele as Pedro Pony, one of Peppa’s friends. He is killed halfway through the film when he sacrifices himself to save Peppa from being burned by a failed invention intended to kill Rhys.
- Kate McKinnon as Susy Sheep, Peppa’s best friend. She is killed in the ending when Rhys’ nuclear bombs are activated.
- Tina Fey as Rebecca Rabbit, Richard’s sister and one of Peppa’s friends. She is captured by Rhys and trapped in the Ancient Lands alongside Edmond and Richard, and is killed in the ending when Rhys’ nuclear bombs are activated.
- T.J. Miller as Richard Rabbit, Rebecca’s younger brother and one of Peppa and George’s friends. He is captured by Rhys and trapped in the Ancient Lands alongside Rebecca and Edmond, and is killed in the ending when Rhys’ nuclear bombs are activated.
- Mindy Kaling as Candy Cat, one of Peppa’s friends. She is killed off-screen early in the movie when she is frozen solid alongside Zoe Zebra.
- Zoe Saldana as Zoe Zebra, one of Peppa’s friends. She is killed off-screen early in the movie when she is frozen solid alongside Candy Cat.
- Kristen Wiig as Emily Elephant, Edmond’s sister and one of Peppa’s friends. She is killed halfway through the film during a battle at Grandpa Pig’s workshop and house, alongside Freddy Fox.
- Channing Tatum as Edmond Elephant, Emily’s younger brother and one of Peppa and George’s friends. He is captured by Rhys and trapped in the Ancient Lands alongside Rebecca and Richard, and is killed in the ending when Rhys’ nuclear bombs are activated.
- Tom Holland as Freddy Fox, one of Peppa’s friends. He is killed halfway through the film during a battle at Grandpa Pig’s workshop and house, alongside Emily Elephant.
- Helen Mirren as Madame Gazelle, the teacher at Peppa, George, and her friends’ playgroup. She is killed very early in the film when a bomb explodes on her while checking the playgroup’s rubble after it got destroyed.
- Peter Cullen as Dr. Brown Bear, the doctor for Peppa and the animals. He is shown captured by Rhys in the Ancient Lands and is killed in the ending when Rhys’ nuclear bombs are activated.
- Julie Andrews as Granny Pig, Grandpa’s wife and Peppa and George’s grandmother. She is killed in the ending when Rhys’ nuclear bombs are activated.
- Patrick Stewart as Grandpa Pig, Grandma’s husband and Peppa and George’s grandfather. He is killed in the ending when Rhys’ nuclear bombs are activated.
- Chris Pratt as Uncle Pig, Auntie’s husband, Chloe and Baby Alexander’s father and Peppa and George’s uncle. He is killed in the ending when Rhys’ nuclear bombs are activated.
- Sarah Silverman as Auntie Pig, Uncle’s wife, Chloë and Baby Alexander’s mother and Peppa and George’s aunt. She is killed in the ending when Rhys’ nuclear bombs are activated.
- Chloë Grace Moretz as Chloe Pig, Baby Alexander’s sister, Uncle and Auntie’s daughter and Peppa and George’s cousin. She is killed in the ending when Rhys’ nuclear bombs are activated.
- Dwayne Johnson as Mr. Bull, a garbage man and construction worker. He is shown captured by Rhys in the Ancient Lands and is killed in the ending when Rhys nuclear bombs are activated.
- Awkwafina as Mrs. Rabbit, Rebecca and Richard’s aunt who has dozens of jobs. She is killed very early in the film when the playgroup bus explodes while she’s still in.
- Michael Keaton as Mr. Potato / Super Potato, a potato who has a superhero alter ego known as Super Potato. He is shown captured by Rhys in the Ancient Lands and is killed in the ending when Rhys’ nuclear bombs are activated.
- Lucy Liu as Dr. Hamster, a hamster veteran. She is shown captured by Rhys in the Ancient Lands and is killed in the ending when Rhys’ nuclear bombs are activated.
- Fred Armisen as Policeman Stag, a dark brown otter policeman in Italy who returned Peppa’s teddy bear multiple times in the episodes "The Holiday House", "Holiday in the Sun" and "The End of the Holiday". He is shown captured by Rhys in the Ancient Lands and is killed in the ending when Rhys’ nuclear bombs are activated.
- Angela Bassett as the Queen, one of the two previously-known humans in Peppa’s world alongside Father Christmas. She is shown captured by Rhys in the Ancient Lands and is killed in the ending when Rhys’ nuclear bombs are activated.
- Ron Perlman as Father Christmas, one of the two previously-known humans in Peppa’s world alongside the Queen. He is shown captured by Rhys in the Ancient Lands and is killed in the ending when Rhys’ nuclear bombs are activated.
- Vin Diesel as Rhys, a human who wants to get Peppa and all of her friends and animals extinct.
- Taika Waititi as the Narrator
Additionally, Baby Alexander Pig, the baby son of Uncle and Auntie Pig, appears in the film with only vocals. Mommy Duck, the Duck family, and the spider Mrs. Skinnylegs from the episodes “Skinnylegs” and “Spiderweb” also appear with no lines, captured in the Ancient Lands.
Production[]
Development[]
Astley/Baker script[]
On April 6, 2023, on the official Peppa Pig X account, it was announced that an animated theatrical feature-length film based on the franchise was in the works. In an interview, series co-creator Neville Astley said that the film was now openly discussed due to the commercial success of Illumination’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which showed that “every single big children’s franchise can be made in film, no matter which one”. The film would be distributed by Paramount Pictures, who has the Peppa Pig television rights through Nick Jr.
Astley and Baker’s script was finished by May 2023. It followed a simple, unambitious premise; it was set to follow Peppa and her family going on a road trip across the world. However, when the duo showed the script to Paramount Pictures later that month, they hated it, ripped it to pieces, and threw it to a fire, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Paramount Pictures later said that they were not looking for a faithful adaption to the franchise’s decade-old episodes, but for a darker, more satirical and widely different take on the characters and their adventures.
Hiring of Frake-Waterfield[]
On June 1, Rhys Frake-Waterfield, who made the independent horror film Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey, signed on to direct and co-write the film, replacing Astley and Baker. However, the duo remained as producers. Paramount Pictures hired Frake-Waterfield since he had experience with adapting long-cherished children’s properties to the big screen in a parody fashion, which is the style they were looking for the film, as well as due to him being British. Frake-Waterfield said that the fact that the film was heavily financed by an actual studio in contrast to the independent funding for Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey allowed him to make a “more opportunistic script” while keeping some of the parody and dark vibes of Blood and Honey.
Writing[]
Since Frake-Waterfield is not a Writers Guild of America writer since he was British, he managed to write the script normally during the 2023 WGA strike. Frake-Waterfield patiently wrote the script under a 2-month deadline, taking his time. He wrote the script concurrently with the script of the planned sequel to Blood and Honey, which was set to be also released in 2024. On June 4, Paramount set the film for a release date of May 31, 2024, to celebrate the franchise’s 20th anniversary. Paramount explained that the script being written just less than a year before the film’s release was not an issue, given the franchise’s known simple animation utilizing CelAction looking for a needlessly long production process.
On June 16, Frake-Waterfield was informed by Paramount that the script had to be submitted that day within an hour, despite him being very far from finishing it and being uninformed of the deadline, having still not written the film’s climax. To meet up for the deadline, he cut nearly all of the final battle he originally planned in a treatment, leaving just one fight of Daddy Pig against the main antagonist Rhys. He also made a “quick resolution” for the film’s ending, with Peppa leaving her family and friends perish on Earth thanks to Rhys’ nuclear bomb while she escapes to another planet. He submitted the unpolished, “final” draft to Paramount exactly 1 second before the deadline.
Frake-Waterfield did not know that the show would still run and air during the film’s release, despite the ending having all the characters of the show minus Peppa being killed, leaving the film in danger to be deemed as non-canon to the franchise. To try to solve this continuity error and save the film from being placed non-canon, he talked with Astley and Baker to set the film at the end of the series’ timeline, set after the inevitable final episode that would exist in the future. In the sequel Peppa Pig: World War, it is retroactively established that the universe the films are set from the point of Rhys’ arrival all happened in an alternate, “fake” timeline branched from the “real” timeline, in which the show’s events occurred and went on normally without the first film’s events aside from the opening scene of the trip to the Ancient Lands. This retcon solved the confusions audiences might have had seeing episodes air that didn’t address the first film’s events after the release of said film.
Casting[]
Vin Diesel voices Rhys, the main antagonist.
The film was originally supposed to include the show’s original, British voice cast, with Amelie Bea Smith, John Sparkles, Morwenna Banks, Richard Ridings, Oliver May, and Alice May, with Ridings voicing the film’s villain. However, after they finished recording their lines, Frake-Waterfield decided to replace all of the voice actors for the film in favor for celebrities. Anya Taylor-Joy was announced to replace Smith in the titular role of Peppa Pig for the film on December, with Chris Pine voicing George, Julia Louis-Dreyfus voicing Mommy, and Paul Rudd voicing Daddy. Vin Diesel was later confirmed to voice the main antagonist, Rhys, in the film. The rest of the very large cast was announced on January. The casting and voice recording process for the film was not impacted by the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, due to the film being recorded in the United Kingdom with the cast members under pre-established Equity contracts, which allow SAG-AFTRA members to continue work in the UK, as the country bans solidarity strikes.
Animation[]
Animation for the film was done with the 2D animation software CelAction. This is the same software used in the making of the series, with little-to-no improvements or changes to the animation style. The only change necessary for this film was the way they integrated and animated Rhys as a human character in the franchise, as he is depicted as a live-action character with Vin Diesel’s appearance inside the animation world.
Prior to any official budget announcements from Paramount, The Hollywood Reporter calculated that the budget of the film would technically be $5 million; $659K would go to the normal animation backgrounds and animated characters (given how it is estimated that a Peppa Pig episode costs $7,755 per minute, multiplying that with the total 85 minutes of the film without opening logos or credits, bringing in the $659K total), plus the $1 million spent on well-putting Vin Diesel in live-action form into the film, and the rest of the money going to paying the cast and crew. However, when Paramount reported the official budget on April, it was revealed to be $120 million, confusing analysts. It was revealed that while $1,659,000 was indeed spent on the animation and Rhys in the film, $3 million was spent on paying Frake-Waterfield and the general crew for the film, while the remaining $115 million was spent on paying the entire voice cast, with each actor minus Taika Waititi, who narrates the film, being paid $3 million, while Diesel was paid $26 million, becoming the highest-paid actor for an animated film ever.
Music[]
Main article: The Peppa Pig Movie/Soundtrack
The Peppa Pig Movie Soundtrack was released on June 1, 2024, the day after the film’s release, through Paramount Music. It was composed by Andrew Scott Bell, who previously worked with Frake-Waterfield in Blood and Honey. Bell incorporated tracks from the series originally composed by Julian Nott. Nott was originally set to score the film, but he dropped out after seeing it, calling it an “offensive, throughly terrible depiction of the cartoon I’ve worked on since 20 years ago”. “Gonna Fly Now” from the Rocky franchise is also featured in the film, during the montage of Daddy Pig hulking up and getting muscular. An original song, titled “Last One Jumping” is sung by Taylor Swift and Kid Cudi, and featured in the end credits of the film.
Release[]
The Peppa Pig Movie had its world premiere at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, where it competed for the Palme D’Or. It was theatrically released in the United States on May 31, 2024, coinciding with the franchise’s 20th anniversary, in 2D, 3D, IMAX and Dolby Digital formats. The film was preceded by the show’s very first episode, “Muddy Puddles”, in United States showings. Despite concerns from parents, organizations, and reports about the seeming violence and dark tones shown in the film’s trailers, The Peppa Pig Movie received a G rating by the Motion Picture Association (MPA) on April 5, 2024, following the preschool audience of the franchise.
The film was banned in China . The China ban was in accordance to the actual series’ banning in the country due to Peppa’s popularity supposedly representing gangster culture.
Marketing[]
The film’s very first teaser trailer was released on January 2024, and revealed the film’s huge cast. The trailer garnered 439.56 million views worldwide in 24 hours, surpassing Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) to become the most-viewed movie trailer in that timeslot. IGN noted the trailer’s rough but clear outline of the film’s plot, and noted how the animation from the show is kept exactly the same for the movie, questioning how that will integrate into a full-length film. Various commenters noted the action and suspense that persisted in the trailer, citing it as “shocking” and “dark”. A teaser poster was also unveiled the day of the trailer launch.
A second trailer was released on March, featuring a first look of Vin Diesel as the villain Rhys and a full look at the film’s premise. Collider noted the film’s very dark-looking tone, while The Hollywood Reporter commented on the all-star voice cast’s performances, criticizing most of them as “having a lack of effort” and “not matching compared to the original voice actors from the series”. The final poster for the film was also revealed alongside the release of the trailer. The final trailer was released on CinemaCon 2024 in April.
Paramount made deals with multiple companies to perform promotion for the film. In total, it was estimated that they spent an approximate $245 million in advertising and promotion. McDonalds made a Happy Meal promotion with various toys. Burger King made a similar promotion, with items including a limited-edition series of Peppa Pig Whoppers of various themes, including Peppa, George, Susy, and Danny variants, with each having pink, blue, white, and brown bun colors, respectively. Everlane also released “Peppa Pig Boots” of various colors, inspired by the film. LEGO released 2 sets based on the film, as part of their inaugural LEGO Duplo Peppa Pig toy line.
Home media[]
The film was released for digital download by Paramount Home Entertainment on July 9, 2024, and was released on Blu-Ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra-HD Blu-Ray on August 2. The physical releases came with deleted scenes, audio commentary, and other bonus material. The film began streaming on Paramount+ on October 5.
Reception[]
Box Office[]
The Peppa Pig Movie grossed $762 million in the United States and Canada, and $947 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $1.709 billion. It became the 12th animated film, and 54th film overall, to reach the billion-dollar mark. It marked multiple box-office records:
- It is the highest-grossing film of 2024, as well as the 8th highest-grossing film of all time, and the 4th highest-grossing film in the United States and Canada.
- It became the highest-grossing animated film of all time, surpassing The Lion King (2019) , and the highest-grossing animated film domestically, surpassing Incredibles 2 (2018).
- It also became Paramount’s highest-grossing film solely distributed by the studio, both domestically and worldwide, surpassing Top Gun: Maverick (2022),
- It became the highest-grossing G-rated film of all time, surpassing Toy Story 4 (2019).
- It also became highest-grossing film based on a television series, surpassing Mission: Impossible - Fallout (2018), and the highest-grossing film based on an animated television series, surpassing The Simpsons Movie (2007).
- It also became the highest-grossing film based on a Hasbro property, surpassing Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011).
- It had the 8th highest-grossing global opening weekend for a movie ever, as well as the 8th biggest domestic opening of all time.
- It had the biggest global opening weekend for an animated film, surpassing The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023), as well as the biggest domestic opening for an animated film, surpassing The Lion King.
- It had the biggest overseas opening for an animated film, surpassing Frozen II (2019).
- It also had the 6th largest opening day for a film in the United States and Canada, as well as the largest domestic opening day for an animated film.
- It also had the biggest domestic opening for a film that was not a sequel, remake, or superhero property, surpassing Barbie (2023).
- It had the 3rd biggest domestic second weekend for a film ever and the biggest for an animated film, surpassing The Super Mario Bros. Movie.
- It became the highest-grossing film of all time in the United Kingdom, surpassing Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015).
- It became the fifth-fastest film to gross $1 billion and the fastest animated film to reach that milestone.
- The film debuted on 4,768 theaters in the United States and later expanded to up to 4,850 theaters, surpassing The Lion King to become the widest release ever in the US and the widest for an animated film, surpassing Despicable Me 3 (2017).
United States and Canada[]
In the United States and Canada, The Peppa Pig Movie was released alongside Young Woman and the Sea, and was projected to gross $15-20 million in its opening weekend. The low projections were cited due to the “low interest” kids have on Peppa Pig nowadays and the underperformance of recent family films. However, after the film made $92.5 million on its first day, including $15.3 million from Thursday night previews, it was reported that the film could debut as high as $50-70 million. The film ended up grossing even more than the re-adjustments, going on to debut $205 million domestic, finishing first at the box office. The film also debuted $252 million in other territories, for a worldwide debut of $457 million, surpassing The Super Mario Bros. Movie to have the biggest worldwide opening weekend for an animated film ever and the 7th biggest global opening weekend for a film ever. This also surpassed The Lion King to have the biggest opening weekend for an animated film in the United States and Canada.
On its second weekend, the film dropped by 39% grossing $125.3 milllion on its second weekend, before grossing $75 million in it’s third weekend for a drop of 40%, where it was surpassed by newcomer Inside Out 2, but surpassing The Super Mario Bros. Movie to have the biggest second and third weekends for an animated film. The film reached the billion-dollar mark on June 14. The film continued to dominate the box office on its fourth weekend with $55 million for a drop of 32%, before making an additional $24 million in its fifth weekend for a drop of 56%. The Peppa Pig Movie left theaters on November 19, 2024, after playing for 26 weekends.
Other territories[]
Outside of the United States and Canada, The Peppa Pig Movie grossed $252 million on its opening weekend. On its second weekend, the film grossed $198 million for a drop of just 21%. On its third weekend, the film grossed $121 million for a drop of 389%. It then grossed $88 million in its fourth weekend for a drop of 27%.
The Peppa Pig Movie had the biggest audience in the United Kingdom, where the franchise was born, becoming the highest-grossing film in the country ever with $157.4 million (surpassing Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)). Also on Mexico, the film became the highest-grossing film of all time in the country, surpassing The Super Mario Bros. Movie, with $103.8 million. The film’s other biggest markets were France ($86.2 million), Japan ($84.6 million), India ($65 million), and Germany ($63.4 million).
Critical Response[]
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 33%, based on 301 reviews, with an average rating of 3.5/10. The critical consensus says, “As occasionally funny of a parody as it is utterly bizarre and dark, The Peppa Pig Movie will not satisfy or attract the franchise’s preschool audience nor the adults it seems to pander towards.” On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 32 out of 100, based on 49 critics, citing “generally unfavorable reviews.” Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film an average rating of “B” on an A+ to F scale.
Roger Watchermatcherhatcher wrote, “With lackluster star-led voice acting, problematic and convoluted premise, and extreme over-the-top dark tones and violence, The Peppa Pig Movie should fall straight into the muddy puddle”. Tomson Supretalchukaquitamunach Jr. from Screen Rant gave the film one and a half out of five stars, writing, “It’s not surprising from director Rhys Frake-Waterfield to turn this long-cherished animated preschool domain into a dark, violent, and bizarre sort-of-survival film that can’t decide whether to be taken seriously or not. And unfortunately, it never works either way”. Calum Marsh from The New York Times felt the story was “so crazy and convoluted that it fails to truly deliver the parody vibe that the premise offers” and called the film “unfunny”. Shaun McInvented from IGN negatively compared the film to Foodfight!: It’s About Time, another film with a similar troubled production, saying that “the unpolished script and it’s issues are easy to see through, and the attempts at satire and mocking of the franchise and it’s decade-long-known characters never feel satisfying or earned”.
Christian Zilko of IndieWire, who gave a mixed review on Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey, said that the film suffered similar problems to that film, lacking a cohesive story and lamented it’s generic animation, criticizing the decision to use the exact same animation software and style as in the show for a full-on theatrical film, and noted that the $120 million budget was mostly spend on paying the all-star cast to participate on the film. Dennis Harvey of Variety gave the film a D+, criticizing the dark humor, poor animation, convoluted story and the voice performances, feeling that “the 25+ celebrity actors involved sound and express their lack of interest in the film or the franchise”. Nick Allen from RogerEbert.com wrote that the film failed as both a Peppa Pig film and a dark comedy, citing it’s confusing story, misguided dark tone, poor script, and clear meddling during production as the reasons to why the film failed.
Converserly, Imnota Reel-Persone from The Fake Reviewer gave a positive review, writing that while the story was confusing and the tone as unfitting, the film delivered on its premise of a Peppa Pig parody far from the show’s preschool audience, citing some of the jokes as funny and praising Vin Diesel’s villain role. He also praised Peppa’s characterization in the ending as fitting with her actual behavior in the series. Chandler Muddyson gave the film three and a half stars out of five, saying “if you hate this franchise, or do not take any of the plot or chaos seriously, or just want a purposefully satirical and parody movie in general, then you might actually have a fantastic time with The Peppa Pig Movie”.
Accolades[]
At the 45th Golden Raspberry Awards, the film won Worst Screenplay, and was nominated for Worst Picture and Worst Supporting Actor for Vin Diesel. It became the second animated film to be nominated for Worst Picture and Worst Screenplay (after The Emoji Movie) and the first animated film to be nominated for Worst Supporting Actor. Despite this, the film was also nominated, and won, the Annie Award for Outstanding Achievement for Animated Effects in an Animated Production. This makes The Peppa Pig Movie the first film in history to win both a Razzie and an Annie, as well as the second film ever made to be nominated for both of the award ceremonies, after 2012’s Battleship (also based on a Hasbro property).
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Golden Rapsberry Awards | Worst Picture | The Peppa Pig Movie - Neville Astley
Mark Baker |
Nominated |
| Worst Supporting Actor | Vin Diesel | |||
| Worst Screenplay | Rhys Frake-Waterfield
Mike White |
Won | ||
| Annie Awards | Outstanding Achievement for Animated Effects in an Animated Production | The Peppa Pig Movie | Won | |
| Kids’ Choice Awards | Favorite Animated Movie | The Peppa Pig Movie | Nominated | |
| Favorite Voice for an Animated Movie (Male) | Vin Diesel | |||
| Favorite Voice for an Animated Movie (Female) | Anya Taylor-Joy | Won |
Sequel[]
Main article: Peppa Pig: World War
After the film grossed $1 billion at the box office, Frake-Waterfield said in an interview that he would be interested in making a sequel if offered, saying that he would like to “expand the satire and dark comedy and take the craziness to a whole another level”. He also said he would love to do a Peppa Pig war film. At San Diego Comic-Con 2024, it was announced that a sequel was in development, with Frake-Waterfield returning as director and writer. In August, the film was given a release date of May 1, 2026. In October, the film’s title was announced to be Peppa Pig: World War, and that the entire all-star voice cast of the first film would return.