Just when you thought Inside Out 2 couldn't be breaking any more records, it's in the billion-dollar club faster than any other animated film!
Inside Out 2 has been the talk of Hollywood. Just when it looked like the box office was never going to reach major heights again, the Pixar sequel hit on Father's Day weekend with a stunning $155 million opening. It then proved serious legs by gaining an additional $100 million in its second weekend domestically and more abroad.
To put this in perspective, in just 13 days, Inside Out 2 outgrossed the entire domestic run of the original 2016 movie. Now, in its third weekend, it's official as Inside Out 2 has cracked the global billion dollar mark with $57 million domestically and $108 million internationally, bringing its grand total to $1,014.8 billion. It's the first movie to crack a billion dollar since 2023's Barbie.
This makes Inside Out 2 the fastest animated movie to hit the billion-dollar mark, achieving it in 19 days, with Frozen 2 having done it in 25. It's also now the 11th animated film to pass that record, with Disney/Pixar holding eight of those spots.
The movie's international success can be that somehow it's connected with Latin American audiences. Per Deadline, it's the highest-grossing animated movie ever across the Latin America region and Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Egypt, Lebanon and Turkey. It's the 2nd highest grossing animated film of all time in Italy, Mexico, Central America, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Uruguay, Philippines and Greece. It also just opened well in New Zealand.
For its domestic run, Inside Out 2 owes a lot to timing. There haven't been that many huge blockbusters released around it in June and opening on Father's Day weekend made it a perfect family film to watch. Also, its second week coincided with a severe heat wave hitting the majority of the United States, making a trip to the theater a good choice for families.
Of course, it helps that Inside Out 2 had great reviews and terrific word of mouth with its messages about handling anxiety and other issues. Yet even Disney appears surprised at just how quickly it's taken off. It's helped overall box office as, after a rough July, the box office is bouncing back with hits like The Garfield Movie (which has spillover from families seeing IO2), Bad Boys: Ride or Die and A Quiet Place: Day One, which opened second to IO2 with $55 million off a $67 million budget.
This defeats the thinking that had been going around that families were more likely to wait for a movie to hit Disney+ than go out to a theater to see it, with so much business indicating repeat viewers. It's also a much-needed shot in the arm for Pixar to finally restore its past box office glory. The movie is a shoo-in for a nomination for the Best Animated Feature Oscar, and even buzz it could get a Best Picture nomination.
It is likely that the 4th of July weekend ends IO2's dominance as Despicable Me 4 will open and get the same family audience. However, IO2 will likely be sticking around for a while and, at the rate it's going, might even challenge for the rare $2 billion-dollar range.
That Disney can now boast the first billion-dollar movie of 2024 is a terrific feather in the cap that the studio needed and makes it likely Inside Out 3 is going to be announced any day now. Right now, there's no longer a question if Inside Out 2 can be a hit but if it could end up being Pixar's highest-grossing film ever.
Inside Out 2 now in theaters.