“Inside Out 2” Surpasses Previous Pixar Hits to Become Studio’s Highest-Grossing Film

2024-07-11 03:16:19

Pixar must have felt elated on Wednesday when “Inside Out 2” became the animation studio’s biggest-grossing film of all time, overtaking 2018’s juggernaut “Incredibles 2” to snag the record.

The new film, which opened over the weekend of June 14, surpassed $1.251 billion in global ticket sales as of Tuesday, according to multiple reports. That total was topped by “Incredibles 2,” and the record for the studio was $1.243 billion, based on numbers not adjusted for inflation.

Now, “Inside Out 2” has its eyes on another record – the highest-grossing animated film of all time. It is currently behind Disney’s original film “Frozen” ($1.285 billion), Illumination and “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” ($1.361 billion) and Disney’s “Frozen II” ($1.453 billion).

The film could surpass “Frozen” and “Super Mario,” although it’s unclear whether it will claim the crown. The film has earned $48 million in South Korea, which could be an indication of how it will perform in Japan, where it has yet to open, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

“Inside Out 2,” a sequel to the 2015 film about a young girl named Riley and her emotions, which are seen as characters that help shape her decisions, saw a domestic opening weekend of $155 million, which exceeded expectations. After two weekends, it was the highest-grossing film of 2024 worldwide, according to Disney.

Pixar’s latest hit isn’t the only animated film hitting the cinema this summer. Universal and Illumination’s “Despicable Me 4” has earned more than $240 million since its June 30 opening, proving another family-friendly picture to capture audiences. Both were released during the summer school break and as sweltering temperatures continue to boil parts of the country.

“Inside Out 2” was a huge hit with critics. The film currently has a score of 91 percent from critics and 96 percent from the audience Rotten Tomatoes and the “A” on CinemaScore, which calculates scores based on audience reactions to films soon after their release. The film continued to fuel debates about how people handle their emotions, what teenagers puberty experience and anxietyand how adults handle emotions such as sadness, joy and nostalgia (all of which are performed as characters in the film).

The deep run of “Inside Out 2” is a big gratification for Pixar, which has been losing its box office releases. In 2020, “Onward” struggled to gain ground as theaters closed amid the pandemic. Pixar’s “Elemental,” which hits theaters in 2023, was one of the record low box office openings for the company (although it recovered somewhat over time). “Lightyear,” a spinoff of the “Toy Story” franchise, also failed to impress critics.

Pixar is teasing a renewed focus on successful franchises for its return trip. In June, the company’s president said, Jim Morris, said Bloomberg that “Inside Out 2” would be a good test run to see if storytelling franchises have a place in Pixar’s arsenal moving forward. That said, the studio’s next film, scheduled for 2025, is “Elio,” an original film about a boy who becomes an ambassador to Earth.