“Inside Out 2” Turns the Box Office Upside Down with Record-Breaking Opening
Anger, Disgust, Fear, and their emotional pals just painted the town red… and green, and blue. This weekend, Disney and Pixar’s Inside Out 2 debuted with a stunning $155M in the US — claiming the title of the second-largest opening for an animated film. The surprise performance comes after several box office flops for the company’s animation division, which is betting that sequels could help it pull moviegoers back into theaters.
- Globally, Inside Out 2 is believed to have earned $295M this past weekend — making it the first movie since Barbie to exceed $100M in its opening weekend.
- Box Office Theory Founder Shawn Robbins said, “Let’s issue a collective ‘welcome back’ to Disney, Pixar, and the summer box office.”
The happy ending Disney needed: Pixar has struggled to find footing with a new generation of directors and voices post-pandemic. While some of Pixar’s COVID-era films like “Soul” and “Luca” were praised by audiences, they generated modest amounts of money at the box office. As a result, Pixar recently reduced its staff by 14%, but with its fifth feature to exceed $100M in its North American debut, the company might already be well on its way to turning things around.
