It’s official: “Inside Out 2” is now the biggest animated movie of all time at the box office. After just five weeks in theaters and a run for the ages under its belt, Pixar’s sequel has now amassed $1.46 billion worldwide, according to a press release from Disney. That puts it just ahead of 2019’s “Frozen II” ($1.45 billion worldwide) to become the new champion of animation at the box office, as well as the 13th highest-grossing movie ever overall, unadjusted for inflation. While there is a small caveat that we’ll get to in a moment, this is a huge deal for a slew of reasons.
Director Kelsey Mann’s “Inside Out 2” has not left the top three on the domestic charts since it premiered on June 12. It had already set a record for an animated film, crossing the $1 billion mark globally and becoming the first movie since “Barbie” to reach that milestone. It is also by far the highest-grossing movie of 2024, with “Dune: Part Two” ($711.8 million worldwide) in a distant second, all due respect. Alan Bergman, Co-Chairman of Disney Entertainment, had this to say about it:
“‘Inside Out 2’ is a quintessentially Pixar film, and it’s been amazing to see how it has connected so deeply with people all over the world. We knew it was really special, but no one could have predicted it would reach these record-breaking heights. We’re grateful to all the fans who have made this the biggest animated film ever.”
What’s most remarkable is that the film is still set to open in Japan and has plenty of fuel left in the tank elsewhere in the world. It will climb even higher before all’s said and done. “Inside Out 2” is also all but assured to pass Marvel’s record-breaking blockbuster “The Avengers” ($1.52 billion) to make its way into the all-time top 10 sooner rather than later.
Inside Out 2 makes its way into the cinema history books
As for the previously mentioned caveat: 2019’s “The Lion King” remake made $1.66 billion worldwide and, though there is one single live action shot, is otherwise a CGI film. There is an argument to be made that it holds the distinction of being the biggest animated film ever. It is also a Disney release, so the studio has decided it doesn’t count as animated. So be it. But there is certainly a more nuanced conversation to be had about why that movie should or shouldn’t be classified as animated.
Beyond that little hiccup, there is much to be said. More than anything, this is a most welcome surprise. The first half of 2024 was downright brutal at the box office in no small part thanks to last year’s SAG and WGA strikes. That left theaters fighting for scraps right up through May, with movies like “The Fall Guy” and “Furiosa” disappointing greatly. Then “Inside Out 2” posted a record-breaking $292 million global opening. It then went on to become the only movie since “Avengers: Endgame” to pull in more than $100 million on its second weekend domestically.
It now ranks as the highest-grossing film in history in Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Chile, and Uruguay. Let us not forget that when “Lightyear” bombed after “Soul,” “Luca,” and “Turning Red” all went directly to Disney+, things seemed bleak for Pixar. But this, coupled with last year’s remarkable turnaround for “Elemental,” which wound up pulling in $496.4 million worldwide after a seemingly disastrous opening, has changed the narrative. The hope is that this will encourage Disney to allow Pixar to continue making originals, rather than double-down on sequels. For now, it’s a welcome return to the top of the mountain for cinema’s most storied animation studio.
“Inside Out 2” is in theaters now.
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