Cars 3

Cars 3 is a 2017 American animated sports comedy-adventure film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. It is the third film in the Cars franchise, following Cars 2 (2011). The film was directed by Brian Fee and written by Kiel Murray, Bob Peterson, and Mike Rich. Owen Wilson, Larry the Cable Guy, Bonnie Hunt, Tony Shalhoub, Guido Quaroni, Cheech Marin, Jenifer Lewis, Paul Dooley, Lloyd Sherr, Michael Wallis, Katherine Helmond and John Ratzenberger reprise their roles from previous films, with Cristela Alonzo, Chris Cooper, Armie Hammer, Nathan Fillion, Lea DeLaria and Kerry Washington joining the cast. In the film, Lightning McQueen (Wilson), now a veteran race car, must prove that he is still competitive against a new generation of technologically advanced racers, with the help of young technician Cruz Ramirez (Alonzo), to prevent a forced retirement from the Piston Cup.

Development of a third Cars film began in late 2011 after the release of its predecessor, and entered production in 2014, with Pixar's then-CCO John Lasseter stating that it would be a "very emotional story", and go back to the first film's themes. The production team for the film conducted research on multiple NASCAR racers, particularly older ones, as well as a sports psychoanalyst, while also focusing on McQueen's relationship with Doc Hudson and its meaning. The production utilized a new rendering system, Rix Integration Subsystem (RIS), which was previously used in Finding Dory (2016). New cast members including Hammer and Alonzo were announced in January 2017, followed by Fillion, Washington and DeLaria two months later. Randy Newman, who had worked on the first film, composed the film's score with artists such as Andra Day, James Bay, Brad Paisley and Jorge Blanco contributing tracks for the film.

Cars 3 was first screened for the NASCAR industry in Kannapolis, North Carolina on May 23, 2017, before its theatrical release in the United States on June 16, accompanied by the animated short film Lou. The film received generally positive reviews from critics and grossed $383 million worldwide against its $175 million budget, becoming the lowest-grossing film of the franchise.