Inside Out 2 Heads for Historic Box Office Opening of $140-150 Million

Where do we begin to describe the emotions that Hollywood and theater owners – not to mention Pixar and its parent company Disney – are likely feeling over the stunning debut of Inside Out 2 At the box office. (Hint: sadness is not one of them.)

Pixar's tentpole grossed a whopping $62 million on Friday, well beyond expectations and putting the film on track for a release in the $140-$150 million range domestically during the Father's Day weekend, one of the three best starts ever for an animated film and the second. -the best for Pixar. Rival studios believe that amount could rise to between $155 million and $160 million, but Disney is being more cautious. Friday's win includes a whopping $13 million in Thursday previews.

Pixar Sequel Incredibles 2 is the crown holder for best animated domestic opening ($182.7 million), followed by Illumination and Universal's The Super Mario Bros. movie. ($146.4 million), Pixar Finding Dory ($135.1 million) and Walt Disney Animation's Frozen II ($130.3 million). The only question now is whether Inside Out 2 can let it pass super mario bros.

Inside Out 2 It's just what the doctor ordered for Pixar, which has endured several years of strife, including when the old Disney regime decided to direct-stream a trio of Pixar films.

The news is just as good overseas, where the sequel has grossed $48.8 million through Friday in 38 markets (it began rolling out in its first batch of countries on Wednesday). It will only open to 60 percent of the market this weekend, so comparisons will be difficult, even though its pace is ahead by more than 200 percent. Upside down and is showing strength in Latin America, Europe and Asia.

Heading into the weekend, the $200 million sequel was poised to debut in North America in the $90 million range, in line with the first film, which went on to gross nearly $860 million worldwide. Instead, Inside Out 2 will be the first film since barbie nearly a year away from crossing $100 million when it launched, a symbol of how tough the box office has been so far in 2024 due to strike-related delays and a slowdown precipitated cinema attendance. (barbie opened to $162 million domestically.)

Inside Out 2 received rave reviews and is currently among the top five highest-rated Pixar films on Rotten Tomatoes with a 93 percent critical score. It earned an A CinemaScore, while the Rotten Tomatoes audience score of 96% is one of Pixar's best.

Directed by Kelsey Mann, the sequel introduces a whole new set of emotions that are brought to “Headquarters” when the story's young heroine, Riley, becomes a teenager. Joy, sadness, anger, fear and disgust are not sure how to feel when anxiety, envy, boredom and embarrassment arrive. Amy Poehler leads the voice cast which also includes 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 started its box office with a joyous $13 million in Thursday night previews, well beyond expectations. Traffic was so strong Friday that it became clear the film would take at least $130 million to $140 million domestically. By late night, rival studios were throwing out estimates of $140 million to $150 million, but Disney and Pixar continue to take a safer approach by sticking to a $140 million-plus forecast.

Thanks to Inside Out 2 and Sony Bad Boys: Ride or Die, which is now in its second phase, overall domestic box office revenue will increase for the first time this year. Father's Day weekend is expected to occur 28% ahead of the same weekend in 2024 when D.C. The flash and Pixar Elementary opened to disappointing numbers. (The flash quickly collapsed, while Elementary finally managed to find his rhythm.)

Bad Boys 4featuring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, is expected to drop just 44% in its second weekend, to $31.5 million, as it crosses the $100 million mark domestically.