Box Office: ‘Inside Out 2’ Heading for Historic $140M-$150M U.S. Opening, a Near-Record for Pixar

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/inside-out-2-box-office-historic-pixar-opening-1235923598/

12 comments

  1. The tentpole is jolting the beleaguered box office back to life and will be the second- or third-biggest animated opening of all time.

    Where to begin in describing the emotions Hollywood and theater owners  — not to mention Pixar and its parent company Disney — are likely feeling over the stunning start of Inside Out 2 at the box office. (Hint: Sadness isn’t one of them.)

    Pixar’s tentpole earned a massive $62 million on Friday, well ahead of expectations and putting the movie on course to open in the $140 million to $150 million range domestically over Father’s Day weekend, one of the top three starts ever for an animated film and the second-best for Pixar. Rival studios believe it could climb as high as $155 million to $160 million, but Disney is being more circumspect. Friday’s haul includes a huge $13 million in Thursday previews.

    Fellow Pixar sequel Incredibles 2 is the crown-holder for top animated domestic opening ($182.7 million), followed by Illumination and Universal’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie ($146.4 million), Pixar’s Finding Dory ($135.1 million) and Walt Disney Animation’s Frozen II ($130.3 million). The only question now is whether Inside Out 2 can pass up Super Mario Bros.

    Inside Out 2 is just what the doctor ordered for Pixar, which has endured several years of strife, including when the former Disney regime decided to send a trio of Pixar films straight to streaming.

    The news is just as good overseas, where the sequel has earned $48.8 million through Friday from 38 markets (it began rolling out in its first batch of countries on Wednesday). It is only opening in 60 percent of the marketplace this weekend, so comparisons will be tough, although it is pacing more than 200 percent ahead of Inside Out and is showing strength across Latin America, Europe and Asia.

    Heading into the weekend, the $200 million sequel was tracking for a North American debut in the $90 million range, in line with the first film, which went on to earn nearly $860 million globally. Instead, Inside Out 2 will be the first movie since Barbie almost a year ago to cross $100 million in its launch, a symbol of just how beleaguered the box office has been so far in 2024 due to strike-related delays and a precipitous downturn in moviegoing. (Barbie opened to $162 million domestically.)

    Inside Out 2 earned glowing reviews and is presently among the five best-rated Pixar films on Rotten Tomatoes with a critics score of 93 percent. It earned an A CinemaScore, while the Rotten Tomatoes audience score of 96 percent is a Pixar-best.

    Directed by Kelsey Mann, the sequel introduces a whole new cast of emotions who are brought into “head”-quarters when the story’s young heroine, Riley, becomes a teenager. Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear and Disgust aren’t so sure how to feel about the arrival of Anxiety, Envy, Ennui and Embarrassment. Amy Poehler leads the voice cast that also includes Maya Hawke, Kensington Tallman, Liza Lapira, Tony Hale, Lewis Black, Phyllis Smith, Ayo Edebiri, Lilimar, Grace Lu, Sumayyah Nuriddin-Green, Adèle Exarchopoulos, Diane Lane, Kyle MacLachlan, Paul Walter Hauser and Yvette Nicole Brown.

  3. Yeah.. safe to say Pixar is going to be focusing on sequels for a while after this.

  6. It was really really good but was surprised to see so many young kids in the audience. Felt like it was geared towards 12+ from the first trailer and for a movie like this it was perfect. I’d love for them to explore college and adult Riley at some point

  8. Glad to see that it did well! I could never find time to sit down and watch the first one.

  9. I’ll wait for Disney Plus, as I’m not going to pay to see it. I watched Inside Out on a plane and wasn’t a fan, but maybe my hatred of flying had something to do with it.

    Coco and Soul were much better.

    PS. Turning Red was a stupid and bad movie too.

  10. Just watched it today with my ADHD daughter who’s 11 and the movie explained anxiety so much. Egger than I could’ve ever done. I’m hoping she learned a thing or two.

  11. And everyone was saying theaters were dead with Furiosa’s bomb

    Critics on Friday were panning it on KCRW

  12. I didn’t even know it was out. I loved the first one. It’s a top 3 Pixar movie to me! Can’t wait to see it.

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