The past two weekends have provided a much-needed boost to what has generally been a sluggish summer for Hollywood’s box office.
First, “Bad Boys: Ride or Die” made headlines with its $57 million opening, and now Disney and Pixar’s “Inside Out 2” is determined to continue the upward trend.
The $200 million animation, in a surprise move, earned the biggest three-day opening of 2024 with $155 million in the U.S. and $295 million globally, setting multiple records in the process
Not only is it the first $100 million-plus opening of the year, but it is the largest since “Barbie” (2023). The PG-rated flick also boasts the second-highest opening in history for an animation, displacing the previous record held by “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” also released in 2023.
In just three days, “Inside Out 2” has already become the fourth-highest-grossing movie of the year, Disney’s biggest animation post-Covid, and eclipsed “Elemental’s” entire $154.4 million U.S. run.
Comparing the $200 million animation to its predecessors is even more impressive.
The first “Inside Out” opened in 2015 to $90 million, almost 50% less than the sequel. Moreover, of all Pixar outings, only “The Incredibles 2” has opened bigger.
The green domestic performances of both “Bad Boys: Ride or Die” and “Inside Out 2” undoubtedly contributed to film distributors counting over $3 billion in box office revenues in the U.S. so far in 2024. For reference, at mid-June 2023, only $1 billion had been amassed by film distributors.
Warner Bros.’ $706.8 million, Universal’s $494.6 million, Sony’s $447.9 million, Paramount’s $270.9 million, and
20th Century Studios’ $193.2 million make up the top five.
The commercial success of “Inside Out 2” mirrors its strong critical reception, with a 92% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and an A on CinemaScore.
While it’s too early to say if the movie will reach the $858.8 million heights of its 2015 predecessor, analysts do not put it past Pixar’s Golden Boy to become the first film of the year to hit $1 billion at the global box office.