5 Reasons Pixar's Inside Out 2 Conquered The Global Box Office

The box office needed a hero, and that hero was Pixar. The storied animation house returned to the big screen this past weekend with its first sequel since 2019 in the form of "Inside Out 2." While tracking indicated that director Kelsey Mann's film was going to be a hit, the film ended up shattering expectations to instantly become one of the biggest hits of 2024. Not to get too ahead of ourselves here, but it now has a real shot at finishing the year as one of the three highest-grossing movies globally — if not the single biggest.

"Inside Out 2" opened to an estimated $155 million domestically to go with $140 million internationally, making for a whopping $295 million global start. That makes it not only the largest global opening of 2024, but it now ranks as the biggest global opening ever for an animated film. While Pixar's "Incredibles 2" had a higher domestic opening weekend of $182.6 million in 2018, it didn't pull in quite as much around the globe. The film also surpassed "The Super Mario Bros. Movie" ($146.3 million) to secure the second-biggest domestic opening ever for an animated film. This was the win that the industry needed as theaters have endured a brutal summer season up to this point, and a downright shocking jolt to global ticket sales.

So what happened? How did Pixar return to box office glory in such shocking fashion? Why did this sequel become the first 2024 film to open to $100 million or more? What went right here? We're going to go over the five biggest reasons that "Inside Out 2" conquered the box office. Let's get into it.

For the most part, there is no substitute for a good movie. That's not to say that every single person loves "Inside Out 2" but, generally speaking, word of mouth has been extremely positive for Pixar's latest sequel. The film earned an A CinemaScore, which is the best for any recent movie since John Krasinski's "IF" opened in mid-May. It also boasts a rock solid 91% critical approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes to go with a stellar 96% audience score. While it's sure to change, that's currently the best audience rating for a Pixar film ever on the website. That's darn impressive.

Pixar, dating all the way back to the groundbreaking hit that was "Toy Story" in 1995, has long been associated with high quality. The studio has only suffered the occasional critical misfire, such as "Cars 2." The fact that the studio's first theatrically released sequel since 2019's "Toy Story 4" has been met with such a warm response is hugely important. If the response was lukewarm? The opening weekend number might not have been so stellar but, more importantly, it might have run the risk of dropping like a rock in the coming weeks. Now, it's set up to have long legs for weeks to come.

It's no secret that the summer box office has been rough this year. "The Fall Guy" set the tone with the worst start to the summer season in decades. Other disappointments such as "Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga" followed, with no major breakout hits emerging. Prior to the release of "Inside Out 2" this past weekend, tickets sales were pacing 26% this same time last year. That was even with the success of "Bad Boys: Ride or Die." All of this to say, it's been a pretty grim time for the industry at large. But all that did was tee up the ball for a breakout hit, and that hit finally came.

Tracking suggested that "Inside Out 2" was going to make around $85 million on its opening weekend domestically, with even the most bullish projections pegging that number at $94 million. To be clear, that would have been incredible given that the original "Inside Out" opened to $90.4 million in 2015 en route to $858 million worldwide. With a sheer lack of true breakout hits thus far in 2024, audiences weren't exhausted by any means. Audiences were straight-up ready for something to come along to justify a trip to the theater. This movie's sheer overperformance, to me, suggests that it benefited greatly from pent-up demand for a true cinematic event.

One thing that has become crystal clear in the pandemic era is that the demand for family-friendly films is substantial. Last year's "The Super Mario Bros. Movie" going on to make more than $1.3 billion worldwide was the greatest example of that, but we've also had movies like "Puss in Boots: The Last Wish" or "Migration" legging out after having soft opening weekends. These movies have a sizable audience even in wildly uncertain times. Pixar managed to galvanize that audience in a big, bad way this past weekend, with moviegoers rallying around the further adventures of Riley and her emotions.

Not only did "Inside Out 2" benefit from strong word of mouth, but it also had the benefit of releasing on Father's Day weekend. Oftentimes, these holiday weekends can provide a big boost to the right movie. An acclaimed family movie arriving in theaters on Father's Day weekend proved to be the perfect storm for a breakout hit. Not to mention that Pixar's good name still clearly has some weight with audiences, even if "Lightyear" suffered theatrically in 2022. With the right film, Pixar's name still clearly means something.

Another thing that cannot be overlooked is the original "Inside Out" and the nine years it took for Disney to make a sequel. Pixar, historically, does not rush out sequels and that has served the company well. If anything, the time between sequels has only increased the appetite for them when they finally come out. Just look at "Toy Story" making $365 million in 1995 only for "Toy Story 3" to become a $1 billion hit in 2010 at a time when $1 billion hits were exceedingly rare. What happened in that time is that the people who grew up on the original were older when the sequel came out, allowing nostalgia to take over. That's precisely what happened here as well.

"Inside Out 2" came out nine years after the original. So people who were, say, ten when the first one came out are now young adults. This was a formative movie for a lot of young adults out there right now. There was also a global pandemic in those years, among other things, that made it a difficult time for people growing up during those years. So a movie about getting older and managing emotions that is also a sequel to a movie these people grew up with? Yeah, that's going to resonate. Plus, people who are older now were able to bring their kids. It made for a larger, enthusiastic audience. Generational nostalgia is a hell of a thing that has helped make some of the biggest hits of all time, such as "Jurassic World" and "Star Wars: The Force Awakens." It once again worked in Disney's favor here.

The biggest thing at play here, in my mind, is the "Elemental" effect. Let's discuss what that means. Disney opted to send "Soul," "Luca," and "Turning Red" directly to Disney+ because of the pandemic. Even Disney CEO Bob Iger has acknowledged that decision hurt the Pixar brand. Specifically, audiences were trained to understand that "Pixar is free now," more or less. That didn't help "Lightyear" and it left the future of the storied animation studio on uncertain ground. "Elemental" became the litmus test last year and, thankfully, it panned out.

After suffering a seemingly disastrous $29.6 million opening weekend last year, "Elemental" legged out in historic fashion, winding up with $496.4 million worldwide. It was a miracle turnaround the likes of which the industry has rarely seen. "Elemental" still ranks as the highest-grossing Hollywood original since the pandemic began. Disney committed to keep this movie in theaters and committed once again to the idea that Pixar movies are theatrical events. It worked and "Inside Out 2" is further evidence of that.

If Disney hadn't fully committed to keeping "Elemental" in theaters, it's hard to say what might have happened. That's not to say that "Inside Out 2" wouldn't have been a hit otherwise, but there's no question that the fantastic run of "Elemental" provided more positive momentum for Pixar. In short? "Elemental" walked so that "Inside Out 2" could run.

"Inside Out 2" is in theaters now.