An emotional victory for cinemas, Hollywood: Inside Out 2 scores a massive $155 million opening

Hollywood's summer movie anxieties gave way to joy this weekend with massive debuts from Disney and Pixars. Inside Out 2. The animated sequel grossed $155 million in ticket sales from 4,440 theaters in the United States and Canada, according to studio estimates as of Sunday.

Not only is it the second biggest opening weekend at Pixars in its nearly 29 years of making films and the second biggest animated opening ever (behind only the 182.7 million debut dollars from Incredibles 2 in 2018); It's also the biggest of 2024, for which no debut film has exceeded $100 million. With an estimated $140 million from international screenings, Inside Out 2 had a staggering and record-breaking global debut of $295 million.

The success is significant for Pixar, marking a much-needed return to form for a studio that has suffered a string of disappointing launches, including Elementarywhich ultimately became a success, and Light year, It was not the case. It is also vitally important to the Hollywood ecosystem as a whole and to the health of theatrical exhibition, which had been with a deficit of 26%before this weekend. Inside Out 2 is the biggest opening since Barbie launched for $162 million last July.

This is a monumental weekend for movie theaters, said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore.

Kelsey Mann directed Inside Out 2, which picks up with Riley as she turns 13. This means the arrival of new emotions like Anxiety (Maya Hawke), Boredom (Adle Exarchopoulos), Envy ( Ayo Edebiri ) and Embarrassment (Paul Walter Hauser) in the mix. Amy Poehler once again lent her voice to Joy in a cast that also includes Tony Hale, Lewis Black and Phyllis Smith. It received rave reviews from critics (92% on Rotten Tomatoes) and surveyed audiences who gave it an A CinemaScore, suggesting it won't be a first-weekend wonder either. With children out of school and an open market until Despicable Me 4 enters the ring on July 4, Inside Out 2 is just getting started.

It is estimated that Inside Out 2 cost around $200 million to produce, not including the millions spent on marketing. Coming into the weekend, it was a debut in the $90 million range, which would have been in line with Inside Out's first weekend in June 2019. Even that would have been considered a formidable feat, and enough to claim the biggest opening of the year ultimately toppled March releases like Dune: part two And Godzilla x Kong.

For the entire industry that works for cinema, this is a huge turning point for 2024, said Daniel Loria of Boxoffice Pro. This is the kind of weekend we've been waiting for.

It got off to a roaring start with $13 million in Thursday previews, which began at 3 p.m. The only major release of the weekend, its cinematic footprint was equally impressive on 400 IMAX screens, more than 900 high-end large format screens and more than 2,500 3D screens.

This recommitment to cinema comes after Disney sent several Pixar films directly to its streaming service, Disney+, because of the pandemic, including Soul, Luca and Turning Red. Last month, the New York Times reported that Pixar had decided to refocus on feature films (and not on the production of programs for Disney+) and that it had laid off 14% of its workforce (around 175 employees).

As big as this weekend is for the industry as a whole, for Pixar, it's huge. They're trying to get their groove back since the pandemic, Dergarabedian said. They really came back in a big way.

Second place went to Sony Bad Boys: Ride or Die, it's now in its second weekend with $33 million, down just 42% from its opening. In just 12 days, he has already earned over $112 million domestically and $214 million globally. As of Friday, the four-film franchise had crossed the $1 billion mark.

Bad Boys success last weekend was the start of a revenue recovery for the lagging summer movie season. For Hollywood, summer time, which runs from the first weekend in May through Labor Day, typically accounts for about 40 percent of the annual box office. The deficit is still significant, with ticket sales down 28% for the summer and 24% for the year (and this is still before Barbenheimer) but its progress is nevertheless more promising.

We won't get there overnight, Dergarabedian said. But it's good news for theaters. And we have some great films on the way.

On the ground, theater owners saw their cineplexes come to life this weekend.

It's been magical, said Jeff Whipple, vice president of Megaplex Cinemas. We saw literally generations of families come together for this film.

Megaplex Theaters operates 15 locations and 173 screens in Utah and southern Nevada. And the energy was palpable, Whipple said. Not only did families stay after the screenings to discuss the film; They also explored what's next with kids taking photos of Despicable Me 4 posters and displays and dads taking note of the release of Deadpool & Wolverine and Kevin Costner's two-part Horizon: A Saga American.

I think word of this movie will spread and help draw people into theaters throughout the summer, Whipple said. This looks like one of those films that people will talk about.

Estimated ticket sales Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final national figures will be released on Monday.

1. Inside Out 2, $155 million.

2. Bad Boys: Ride or Die, $33 million.

3. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, $5.2 million.

4. The Garfield Movie, $5 million.

5. The Observers, $3.7 million.

6. SI, $3.5 million.

7. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, $2.4 million.

8. The Fall Guy, $1.5 million.

9. The Strangers: Chapter 1, $760,000.

10. Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, $632,910.