‘Inside Out 2’ scores US$100m in its second weekend, setting records

NEW YORK (AP):

Weekend number two was just as joyous for Inside Out 2.

The Pixar sequel collected US$100 million in ticket sales in its second weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday, setting a new record for an animated movie in its follow-up frame in theatres. The previous best second weekend for an animated title was the US$92 million for The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Only six movies ever have had better second weekends.

In just a week and a half, Inside Out 2 has become 2024’s highest-grossing film to date with US$724.4 million globally, including US$355.2 million in US and Canadian theatres. That passes the US$711.8 million worldwide total of Dune: Part Two. Inside Out 2 will likely blow through the US$1 billion mark in about a week, which would make it the first film since Barbie to do so.

The extent of the Inside Out 2 success startled Hollywood, which had grown accustomed to lower expectations as the film industry watched ticket sales this year slump about 40 per cent below pre-pandemic totals, according to data firm Comscore, before Inside Out 2 came along.

The record haul for Inside Out 2, though, recalled past years when US$1 billion grosses were more commonplace for the Walt Disney Co. It is also a much-needed blockbuster for Pixar, which after experimenting with direct-to-streaming releases, reconsidered its movie pipeline and approach to mass-audience appeal.

Now, Inside Out 2, which dipped a mere 35 per cent from its US$154 million domestic debut, is poised to challenge The Incredibles 2 (US$1.2 billion) for the all-time top grossing Pixar release. It could also steer the venerated animation factory toward more sequels. Among its upcoming films is Toy Story 5, due out in 2026.

For theatre owners, Inside Out 2 could hardly have been more needed. But it also reminded exhibitors of how feast-or-famine the movie business has become in recent years. Since the pandemic, movies like Barbie, Spider-Man: No Way Home and Top Gun: Maverick have pushed ticket sales to record heights, but fallow periods in between box-office sensations have grown longer. Ticket sales over Memorial Day last month were the worst in three decades.

Some of 2024’s downturn can be attributed to release-schedule juggling caused by last year’s writers and actors strikes. The biggest new release over the weekend was Jeff Nichols’ motorcycle gang drama The Bikeriders, a film originally slated to open in 2023 before the actors strike prompted its postponement.

The Bikeriders, starring Jodie Comer, Austin Butler and Tom Hardy, came in on the high side of expectations with US$10 million from 2,642 venues in its opening weekend. The Bikeriders, which cost about US$35 million to produce, was originally to be released by Disney before New Regency took it to Focus Features last fall.

The strong business for Inside Out 2 appeared to raise ticket sales generally. Sony Pictures’ Bad Boys: Ride or Die held well in its third week of release, collecting US$18.8 million. It remained in second place. The Bad Boys sequel, starring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, has grossed US$146.9 million domestically thus far.

Next week, the sci-fi horror prequel A Quiet Place: Day One and Kevin Costner’s Western epic Horizon: An American Saga –Chapter 1 will hope some of the Inside Out 2 success rubs off on them.