Sadness, get over it: “Inside Out 2” has just racked up the highest box office previews of 2024.
The most recent animated feature from Disney and Pixar made $13 million in domestic preview sales on Thursday and $22.3 million overseas. This weekend, the family-friendly follow-up is expected to make between $80 million and $90 million upon release.
If “Inside Out 2” made a higher-end premiere, it would have the biggest opening of the year. With “Dune: Part Two” coming in at $82.5 million and “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” coming in at $80 million, Warner Bros. is presently holding the top two slots for 2024.
To put last year’s “The Little Mermaid” ($10.3 million), “Minions: The Rise of Gru” ($10.8 million), and “Toy Story 4” ($12 million) in comparison, “Inside Out 2’s” $13 million in domestic box office previews surpassed them. It is not as good as more recent animated superhero follow-ups like “Incredibles 2” ($18.5 million) and “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” ($17.4 million).
“Inside Out 2” performed exceptionally well outside of the United States and Canada, earning $5.7 million in preview sales and the third-highest opening day for an animated film in Mexican history. “Inside Out 2” opened with the second-highest opening day total in Argentina, only surpassed by “Toy Story 4.” Furthermore, the film still has legs abroad because, following its premiere weekend, it will play in a number of nations, including France, Italy, Spain, China, Japan, and Brazil.
After spending $3.7 million on previews, the original “Inside Out,” which debuted in theaters in June 2015, brought in $90.5 million domestically. Families rushed to see the surprisingly moving coming-of-age movie, which went on to gross $356 million in North America and $858.8 million worldwide. With a $200 million budget, “Inside Out 2” ought to come close to reaching the original film’s peak.
Additionally, the new movie will end Pixar’s current unsteady run of successful film premieres. With a $29.6 million debut, “Elemental” from last year had Pixar’s lowest opening ever; the “Toy Story” spinoff “Lightyear” had opened with $50.5 million. Amidst the COVID-19 epidemic, “Soul,” “Turning Red,” and “Luca” made their Disney+ debuts, while “Onward” had the unfortunate timing of making its debut a few days before cinemas closed.
The young lead character Riley from “Inside Out” and her anthropomorphized feelings—Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust—as well as Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith, Lewis Black, and Liza Lapira—return in the follow-up. Ayo Edebiri as Envy, Paul Walter Hauser as Embarrassment, and Maya Hawke as Anxiety join the gang as Riley enters adolescence.
In its second weekend, Sony’s “Bad Boys: Ride or Die,” which won the box office last week, is expected to bring in about $28 million. The four-film franchise is getting close to the $1 billion milestone, having made over $125 million globally.