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Inside Out's billion-dollar box office: Disney's focus on sequels is already paying off

With Inside Out 2 grossing over $1 billion at the box office so far, Disney's strategy to lean into sequels is looking like a good one.

By Matthew Liebl

JOY AND ANXIETY -- Disney and Pixar’s “Inside Out 2” returns to the mind of freshly minted teenager Riley just as a new Emotion shows up unexpectedly. Much to Joy’s surprise, Anxiety isn’t the type who will take a back seat either. Featuring the voices of Amy Poehler as Joy and Maya Hawke as Anxiety, “Inside Out 2” releases only in theaters Summer 2024.© 2023 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.
JOY AND ANXIETY -- Disney and Pixar’s “Inside Out 2” returns to the mind of freshly minted teenager Riley just as a new Emotion shows up unexpectedly. Much to Joy’s surprise, Anxiety isn’t the type who will take a back seat either. Featuring the voices of Amy Poehler as Joy and Maya Hawke as Anxiety, “Inside Out 2” releases only in theaters Summer 2024.© 2023 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved. /
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Sequels haven't always been Disney's strong suit. For those who were around in the late 90s, you probably remember the wave of cheap, direct-to-video sequels. The Lion King II: Simba's Pride, The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea, and Cinderella II: Dreams Come True were just some of the feature-length films produced directly for home entertainment.

Many of these films weren't met with the most positive reception, but they were financially successful. It seemingly taught Disney that sequels can be a real moneymaker.

Fast forward to 2024. Disney has been struggling mightily at the box office in recent years. Marvel hasn't packed the same punch since 2019's Endgame, Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios films — most of them original releases — had been relegated to Disney+ for much of the pandemic. The ones that have released in theaters have bombed, often failing to recoup production and marketing costs.

The result was Disney being dethroned as king of the global box office in 2023. After a seven year run at the top, Universal Studios claimed the No. 1 spot led by Oppenheimer and The Super Mario Bros. Movie. The most glaring disappointment was the fact that Disney didn't have a top-three box office earner.

While Marvel has undoubtedly been a disappointment, a lot of the blame was pinned on Pixar. Much of it was Disney's own doing as it chose to release Soul, Luca and Turning Red directly onto Disney+ which some believe trained audiences to view Pixar as a streaming studio.

Lightyear was an absolute bomb at the box office and while things started slowly for Elemental, it was ultimately deemed a sleeper hit with $496.4 million globally.

Disney had lost its box office magic these past few years and to help restore it, returning CEO Bob Iger announced a new plan that would lean heavily on established IPs. In May, Iger described the plan:

"“We’re gonna balance sequels with originals. Specifically in animation, we had gone through a period where our original films and animation, both Disney and Pixar, were dominating. We’re now swinging back a bit to lean on sequels.”
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The announcement was met with trepidation by some, however. There's the worry that Disney could dilute the quality of an IP by pushing out too many sequels. The 90s direct-to-video sequels suggest that may be the case, but sequels like Frozen II, Toy Story 4, and Finding Dory were all met with critical and commercial success, scoring solid reviews from critics and fans while surpassing the billion dollar mark at the global box office.

Many fans may claim that they want original stories, and that may be true, but for whatever reason these original films haven't been performing well at the box office.

Which brings me to Inside Out 2. The long-awaited sequel, which arrived nine years after the original, has shattered box office records. Just this week, the film joined the billion-dollar club, so far grossing over $1.014.8 billion globally as of July 1st. That's a number sure to continue to grow with the July 4th holiday weekend even with the release of Despicable Me 4.

Now unlike the sequels of the 90s and early 2000s, Inside Out 2 isn't just a commercial success, but a critical darling as well. The film has been met with glowing reviews from critics and fans alike, sitting at a 90% and 96%, respectively, on Rotten Tomatoes.

Inside Out 2's box office success is early proof that Disney's strategy to lean on sequels is a good one. And looking ahead, there's plenty for the company to be optimistic about.

This Thanksgiving, Disney's strategy will be tested again with the release of Moana 2, the sequel to Walt Disney Animation Studios' 2016 animated musical adventure. The original Moana wasn't a huge hit for Disney, but it was profitable with $687.2 million at the worldwide box office. In the years since though, it's only gained in popularity which gives the sequel a built-in audience excited for Moana's next adventure. I do have some reservations about the film, especially since it originated as a Disney+ series, but I think it will prove to be another box office hit for Disney.

Looking further ahead, Disney has already announced Zootopia 2 (2025), Toy Story 5 (2025), and Frozen III (2026). Mixed in between is Elio, an original CG-animated film, releasing in 2025.

I know it's just one example, but Inside Out 2's success is early proof that Disney's strategy is working.

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