It’s the summer box office miracle we’ve been waiting for. Pixar’s Inside Out 2 followed up its enormous $295 million opening with a second weekend performance blowing past all expectations to become the top movie of 2024 with about $725 million worldwide.
Inside Out 2 has overperformed every day of its mere 10 days of release, including weekday totals that set records and led to expectations for at least a $600+ million global cume by end of business Sunday (minus additional revenue from China, as Monday morning screenings start there while it’s still Sunday evening in the Western Hemisphere). But it wasn’t until Friday’s huge domestic $30 million figure that it became apparent we were in store for such a remarkable outcome.
Inside Out 2’s $725 million haul to date already tops Dune: Part II’s previous-best for the year at $711 million. It also means that even if Pixar’s blockbuster suddenly reverted to more typical weekly declines, it would cross the $1 billion mark to become the year’s first billion grosser and the first movie to top $1 billion since Barbie last summer.
Whether it takes one more week or two for Inside Out 2 to pass the $1 billion threshold remains to be seen. It’s just a question of whether the first week and second weekend represent what will be a mostly front-loaded rush, giving way quickly to anticipation for the next summer blockbuster; or if it’s a sign families are rallying around the movie and recommending it to other families, and returning for their own repeat viewings as well.
The road ahead doesn’t offer anything that can derail Inside Out 2’s billion dollar future. A Quiet Place: Day One arrives next weekend, but the popular horror franchise doesn’t really play at the same blockbuster level necessary to significantly bite into the main demographics for the Disney-Pixar family film.
Indeed, having a popular new PG-13 horror sci-fi movie for parent’s teenage kids to watch at the multiplex could make it easier for the parents to take younger kids to Inside Out 2. It’s summer break, after all, and kids are increasingly out of school.
Regardless, I don’t expect a big decline in attendance yet for Inside Out 2, so by next weekend’s end of business I’m going to guess the film sits atop roughly $970-975 million, and tops $1 billion within a couple of days after that. On the higher end of my expectations would be a weekend finish just north of $980 million.
Longterm, Inside Out 2 looks on track to pass $1.2 billion by the end of July, but much depends on the primary challenger lurking just around the corner next month. Despicable Me 4 from Illumination and Universal is part of one of the biggest, most lucrative animated franchises of all time, and one of the modern heavy hitters at the box office. If anything is going to be the first to seriously pull from Inside Out 2’s audience, this is it, and it arrives July 3rd.
Luckily for Disney-Pixar, that’s a big holiday weekend with lots of lead-in time, meaning plenty of room for both Despicable Me 4 and Inside Out 2 to enjoy big numbers. Theaters would be smart to promote a double-feature of both to celebrate the holiday with the whole family, including any July 4th specials for food and drinks.
Minions: The Rise of Gru was the big July 4th weekend winner in 2022, at $123 million domestic, and takes the top spot on all-time charts for the holiday. And Despicable Me 3 scored $99 million to top the Independence Day weekend back in 2017, for the #4 spot on the charts.
Which means we should expect a big showing by Despicable Me 4 and another all-time charting performance. And if it winds up big enough to eat into Inside Out 2’s audience more than expected, it’s nothing to get anxious about — Pixar will still be entering that sweet billion dollar club even if it takes just a little while longer.
