Toy Story 3 became the first film in the Toy Story series to surpass $1 billion at the worldwide box office.
Released in 2010, Toy Story 3 continued the story of Andy’s toys as he prepared to leave for college. Its emotional premise, broad international release, and strong reception helped it become a major commercial success. The film was the first Pixar production to reach the billion-dollar mark.
Toy Story 3 also achieved an important milestone for animated cinema. It became the first animated film to pass $1 billion worldwide, a distinction later shared by several other computer-animated releases. Its financial performance helped establish the Toy Story series as one of Pixar’s most successful franchises.
Toy Story 4 later earned more worldwide, so the answer refers to the first film to reach the milestone, not the highest-grossing entry. Toy Story 3 is also notable for receiving the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature and a Best Picture nomination.