“Inside Out 2” revives a sluggish summer box office

Disney had a joyous weekend with the release of their latest animated film, “Inside Out 2.” This film has energized the sluggish summer box office, becoming the first movie of 2024 to achieve $100 million in domestic sales during its opening weekend.

The movie is on track for a $155 million weekend, based on estimates from Comscore, making it the most profitable box office debut since last July’s “Barbie,” which earned $162 million. “Inside Out 2” has also claimed the second spot for the highest domestic animated three-day opening, falling just shy of $30 million behind 2018’s “Incredibles 2.” Additionally, it has surpassed “Dune: Part 2” as the highest-grossing opening of 2024 so far.

“This performance exceeded our expectations,” said Daniel Loria, editorial director at Box Office Pro, which collects sales and showtime data from numerous U.S. theaters. “We thought it might match ‘Toy Story 4’s’ $120 million opening weekend, but this result is extraordinary.”

Industry experts view this weekend as a pivotal moment for both Disney and the overall domestic box office, which had a slow start following a particularly low turnout during Memorial Day weekend, the traditional start of the summer season.

Shawn Robbins, founder and owner of Box Office Theory, described the opening weekend as a “well-earned victory lap for Disney, Pixar, and movie theaters.”

“Disney is still in the early stages of its renewed focus on theatrical releases,” he said. “It remains to be seen what original content can achieve in the future and how consistently Disney can replicate these types of successes, but this is a significant rebound for the company and Pixar after a series of underperforming releases.”

The industry has faced production delays due to last year’s lengthy Writers Guild and SAG-AFTRA strikes, and Disney’s recent Marvel releases have been underwhelming.

“Deadpool & Wolverine,” the sole Marvel property release this summer, is expected to revive audience interest after “The Marvels” disappointed last November with a $47 million opening weekend. The third R-rated installment featuring the foul-mouthed anti-hero is set for a July 26 release.

“The summer’s narrative hinged on how Pixar (‘Inside Out 2’) and Marvel (‘Deadpool & Wolverine’) would perform,” said Loria.

According to Comscore data, domestic box office totals since early May are still down by about 28% compared to the same period last year. However, senior analyst Paul Dergarabedian believes “Inside Out 2” represents a “major turning point” for theaters, adding that it only takes “one or two overperforming films to change the entire narrative.”

“This is the best possible news for Pixar, movie theaters, and rival studios with upcoming summer films, like the family-friendly ‘Despicable Me 4,’ which will benefit from the increased interest and foot traffic at multiplexes,” Dergarabedian noted.