Hollywood and theatre owners, along with Pixar and Disney, are likely feeling an overwhelming surge of joy and relief following the extraordinary success of Inside Out 2 at the box office. The movie’s stunning performance over Father’s Day weekend has sparked a major comeback for Pixar.
The highly anticipated sequel debuted to a staggering $155 million domestically, surpassing the projected $90 million. This achievement marks the second-largest opening for an animated film over a three-day weekend, unadjusted for inflation. Internationally, Inside Out 2 amassed a record-breaking $140 million, bringing its global opening total to $295 million. This makes it the biggest opening ever for an animated film in comparable markets when accounting for exchange rates.
Inside Out 2 now sits behind Incredibles 2 ($182.7 million) as the second-highest domestic opening for an animated movie. It overtook The Super Mario Bros. Movie ($146.4 million), Finding Dory ($135.1 million), and Frozen II ($130.3 million).
This remarkable performance is a much-needed win for Pixar, which has faced several challenging years, including a period when some of its films were released directly to streaming under the previous Disney regime.
The film opened in only 60 per cent of the international market but still managed to break records, particularly in Latin America. In Mexico alone, it earned $30.2 million, becoming the second-largest opening there behind Avengers: Endgame. Other notable international earnings include $14.9 million from South Korea and $13.9 million from the U.K.
Before the weekend, Inside Out 2 was expected to open in the $90 million range domestically, similar to its predecessor, which eventually grossed nearly $860 million globally. Instead, it is the first film since Barbie almost a year ago to exceed $100 million in its opening weekend, signalling a recovery for the box office in 2024 after numerous strike-related delays and a decline in movie attendance. Barbie opened to $162 million domestically and went on to join the billion-dollar box office club, a trajectory Inside Out 2 might follow.
The sequel has received glowing reviews, boasting a 93 per cent critic score on Rotten Tomatoes and a 96 per cent audience score, the highest for any Pixar film. It also earned an A CinemaScore.
Directed by Kelsey Mann, Inside Out 2 introduces new emotions as Riley becomes a teenager. Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust now face the arrival of Anxiety, Envy, Ennui, and Embarrassment. The voice cast includes Amy Poehler, Maya Hawke, Kensington Tallman, Liza Lapira, Tony Hale, Lewis Black, Phyllis Smith, Ayo Edebiri, Lilimar, Grace Lu, Sumayyah Nuriddin-Green, Adèle Exarchopoulos, Diane Lane, Kyle MacLachlan, Paul Walter Hauser, and Yvette Nicole Brown.
Inside Out 2 began its impressive run with $13 million from Thursday evening previews, exceeding expectations. The strong Friday performance suggested a domestic opening of at least $130 million to $140 million. By late evening, rival studios estimated between $140 million and $150 million, though Disney and Pixar cautiously projected $140 million-plus.
Adding to the weekend's success, Sony’s Bad Boys: Ride or Die, in its second weekend, contributed to the rise in overall domestic box office revenue for the first time this year. The holiday weekend’s earnings were up 30 per cent from the same period in 2024, which saw disappointing openings from The Flash and Elemental.
Bad Boys 4, starring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, earned $33 million in its second weekend, bringing its domestic total to over $100 million and its global earnings to $200 million.
Meanwhile, 20th Century and Disney’s Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes ranked third, nearing $400 million globally with a domestic total of $157.8 million. The Garfield Movie from Alcon and Sony placed fourth with $5 million, totalling $78.5 million domestically.
In a close race for fifth place were IF and The Watchers, with IF earning $3.5 million and The Watchers $3.7 million. John Krasinski’s IF, an original CGI/live-action hybrid, celebrated crossing the $100 million mark domestically.
