Inside Out 2 Dethrones Dune 2 As The Biggest Box Office Hit Of 2024 So Far
“Inside Out 2” now holds the record for the best second weekend ever for an animated movie, dethroning last year’s “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” ($92.3 million). That bodes well, given that “Mario” went on to earn more than $1.3 billion globally. It’s the seventh biggest second weekend ever behind “The Avengers” ($103 million), “Jurassic World” ($106.5 million), “Black Panther” ($111.6 million), “Avengers: Infinity War” ($114.7 million), “Avengers: Endgame” ($147.3 million), and “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” ($149.2 million). What’s interesting is that all of those movies made at least $200 million on their opening weekends, so the week-to-week hold for “Inside Out 2” in the early going is particularly strong, comparatively.
Looking ahead, “Inside Out 2” will cross the $1 billion mark by early July, becoming the first 2024 movie to do so. If things can continue to go well, it should pass “Incredibles 2” ($1.24 billion) to become Pixar’s biggest movie ever. Can any other movie coming down the pipeline cross that same $1 billion milestone and potentially challenge Pixar’s blockbuster sequel for the crown? It seems increasingly unlikely but there are a couple of films that have a shot.
Next up is another animated juggernaut in the form of “Despicable Me 4,” which arrives on the July 4 weekend. Kids love the Minions and that one seemed like perhaps the only safe bet as a $1 billion grosser at the beginning of the year. There’s also Marvel’s “Deadpool & Wolverine,” which increasingly seems like it is going to outperform even the most bullish expectations. The film has already started breaking box office records well ahead of its release, suggesting a monster opening. But an R-rated comic book movie may have a tough time matching the long legs of a family-friendly, mass appeal animated film. For now at least, Disney is king of the box office once again.
“Inside Out 2” is in theaters now.
