Inside Out 2 Scores Second Biggest Animated Box Office Opening Ever

Pixar's latest film, Inside Out 2, has been a box office hit, raking in a total of $155 million domestically and $295 million globally on its opening weekend. That gives it the biggest opening of 2024 so far, topping both Dune: Part Two's $182.5 million opening and Godzilla x Kong's $194 million opening.

Inside Out 2 had the second-most successful opening weekend ever for an animated film, coming in just under Disney's Incredibles 2, which earned $182.6 million domestically when it first opened in 2018. Inside Out 2's final domestic gross is expected to exceed half a $500 million, according to Deadline. EnTelligence, a company that "provides proprietary impression analysis" for motion picture groups and streaming services, reports that 12 million tickets have been sold. The last film to sell over 10 million tickets during its opening weekend was last summer's Barbie, which sold 13 million tickets during its debut. The film has also attracted a more diverse audience than any other Pixar film with the exception of 2017's Coco, with 36% of audiences comprised of Hispanic and Latino viewers.

The Inside Out Sequel follows now-13-year-old Riley, during the summer before her first year of high school. Riley attends a hockey camp in the hopes of making her new school's team, and all seems to be going well until a group of four new emotions--Anxiety, Envy, Ennui, and Embarrassment--make an unexpected arrival and clash with Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust. Things get even more complicated when Riley begins going through puberty, acting out-of-character as the personified emotions clash inside her brain. The film follows Riley's struggle to form friendships--and, ultimately, gain control of emotions both old and new--as she tries to fit in with the other students at camp and navigate a new environment.

Director Kelsey Mann has "a whole stockpile of ideas" for future films following Riley and her emotions, and has hinted at the possibility of a third entry in the franchise.

"[The ideas are] too good, they're too funny, they're too interesting for them not to be tapped into," Mann told USA Today. "So I have no idea where the future will go, [but the franchise] should continue, because I think it's something that the audience really wants."