Inside Out 2's Box Office Success Proves Pixar Must Keep Making Original Films

The American box office needed a win, and my word, did it get one with "Inside Out 2." The latest film from Pixar had a record-breaking weekend, pulling in nearly $295 million globally and marking the best opening weekend ever for an animated film. That number includes $154.2 million domestically, which means director Kelsey Mann now holds the record for the biggest opening weekend ever for a feature directorial debut. In short, it was a home run for Disney and Pixar. It's also one that comes with an important lesson that could easily be ignored by the powers that be: Pixar needs to invest in original ideas now more than ever.

Given the insanely huge opening weekend, positive reviews, and instantly strong word of mouth from audiences, "Inside Out 2" now has a real shot at becoming the biggest movie of 2024 overall and a likely $1 billion global grosser, assuming it doesn't fall off a cliff in the coming weeks. It seems likely that this will mark the return of Pixar as the unquestioned king of theatrical animation after a rough few years. "Onward" was cut very short by the pandemic. "Luca," "Soul," and "Turning Red" were all dumped to Disney+ essentially for free. "Lightyear" bombed badly at the box office in 2022. It's been tough sledding.

So this is a welcome turn of events, and it couldn't have come at a better time as theaters have been suffering badly in 2024 thus far. That said, the film's success runs the risk of teaching Disney the wrong lesson. The takeaway here can't be that Pixar should only make sequels to already successful properties. That would be relatively shortsighted and a way to all but ensure that Pixar's future is less bright than it could be if the studio is allowed to continue to do what it has always done.

A recent Bloomberg report cast doubt on Pixar maintaining its status as a place that could birth a true blockbuster original. The report notes that Pixar is going to focus more on sequels, spin-offs, and even reboots of successful franchises such as "The Incredibles" and "Finding Nemo." When it comes to originals, they will "focus less on autobiographical tales" such as "Luca" or "Turning Red" (both of which were met with widespread acclaim). The studio will "instead develop concepts with clear mass appeal."

Granted, this report came out before the blockbuster success of "Inside Out 2." Who knows how or if that will change the current thinking at Disney and Pixar. But what doesn't change is the cold, simple fact that this movie does not become a blockbuster success unless the first "Inside Out" gets made in 2015. Pete Docter's film, on paper, does not scream "hit." And yet, a movie about the internal emotions of a young girl went on to make $858 million worldwide on its way to an Oscar for Best Animated Feature. That original hit set the stage for an even bigger sequel that is now saving theaters from a particularly brutal summer season.

Simply put, if Pixar truly does become more risk-averse and franchise-dependent, the next "Inside Out" is unlikely to make its way out into the world. If we lose out on that, then we don't get "Inside Out 2." To get franchises, new ones must be created. Pixar, dating back to the groundbreaking success of "Toy Story" in 1995, has been arguably the best in the business at creating new franchises — period. That shouldn't end just because Disney had a couple of rough years.

Not to be lost in the conversation about "Inside Out 2" is the success of "Elemental" last year. Even though the Pixar original opened with a seemingly disastrous $29.6 million domestically, it went on to have one of the most improbable runs at the box office in history, finishing with $496.4 million worldwide. That's proof that original projects still perform well for the studio.

Disney invested in making sure "Elemental" got a healthy theatrical run, and even if it was a slow burn, audiences turned up. Under better circumstances, it's fair to assume that the trio of originals that were dumped to Disney+ would have done better as well. Disney CEO Bob Iger even pretty much said as much in a 2023 interview:

"There were three Pixar releases in a row that went direct to streaming, in part because of — mostly because of COVID. And I think that may have created an expectation in the audience that they're going to eventually be on streaming and probably quickly, and there wasn't an urgency."

Iger also said that "there were some creative misses, as well." One could argue that "Lightyear" falls into that camp. But "Soul" won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature. "Luca" and "Turning Red" were met with widespread acclaim, both of which were nominated for Best Animated Feature. "Elemental" became a historic word-of-mouth success. It would be very difficult to argue that those were creative misses. Out of the bunch, the franchise play was arguably the biggest misfire.

Am I saying Pixar should avoid sequels? Of course not. But "Toy Story 3" doesn't become a $1 billion hit in 2010 without "Toy Story" existing in the first place. Pixar's reputation was built on original ideas. There's a reason "WALL-E" got a Criterion Collection release. There's a reason "Finding Dory" made $1 billion 13 years after "Finding Nemo" became a hit. There's a reason "Elemental" had a downright remarkable turnaround. Pixar is associated with true quality. That name means something. It is an essential bastion of original cinema at a time when that is hard to come by. Disney can't let that go by the wayside in favor of pure franchise exploitation.

We spoke about this and much more on today's episode of the /Film Daily podcast:

"Inside Out 2" is in theaters now.