Hollywood turning Inside Out with delight as animated sequel becomes second-biggest animated opening ever

Hollywood’s movie anxieties gave way to joy at the weekend with the massive debut of Disney and Pixar’s Inside Out 2 just as the industry was ready to write off 2024 as its annus horribilis. The animated sequel earned $155 million ($235m) in ticket sales from 4440 theatres in the US and Canada, according to studio estimates Sunday. Not only is it the second-highest opening weekend in Pixar’s 29 years of making films and the second-biggest animated opening ever (behind only the $277m launch of Incredibles 2 in 2018); it’s also the biggest of 2024, and since Barbie. With an estimated $212m from international showings, Inside Out 2 had a staggering, and record-breaking, $447m global start. Tony Chambers, who heads theatrical distribution for Disney, was confident that the film would do “extremely well”. But even he was surprised at how much it exceeded already high expectations. “People go to the theatres for great movies,” Mr Chambers said. “The reviews, the word of mouth just helped build this momentum ... it’s becoming a bit of a phenomenon.” Importantly, “Inside Out 2” audiences spanned ages and all demographics. Post- COVID, he said, breakout successes depend on attracting multicultural audiences. The success is significant for Pixar, marking a much-needed return to form for a studio that has had a string of underwhelming launches including Elemental, which did eventually become a success, and Lightyear, which didn’t. It’s also vitally important for the greater Hollywood ecosystem and the health of theatrical exhibition, which had been running at a 26 per cent deficit. “Everybody needed this because success begets success,” said Mr Chambers, who has been getting excited calls from exhibitors and fellow studios alike. “It’s great for the industry, great for Pixar and great for the business overall.” Disney was already having a good summer, with Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes, which this weekend was in third place in its sixth weekend with $7.9m (bringing its global total to $567m). And next up is “ Deadpool & Wolverine “ (July 26). Kelsey Mann directed Inside Out 2, which picks up with Riley as she turns 13. That means the arrival of new emotions like Anxiety (Maya Hawke) and Envy (Ayo Edebiri ) to Joy’s (Amy Poehler) party. It has got glowing reviews from critics (92 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes) and polled audiences who gave it an A CinemaScore, suggesting that this won’t be a first-weekend wonder. With kids out of school and an open market until “Despicable Me 4” enters the ring over the Fourth of July, “Inside Out 2” is just getting started. “This is a monumental weekend for movie theaters,” said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. “Inside Out 2” is estimated to have cost around $200 million to produce, which does not account for the millions spent on marketing. Going into the weekend, it was tracking for a debut in the $90 million range, which would have been in line with “Inside Out’s” first weekend in June 2019. Even that would have been considered a terrific achievement, and enough to claim the biggest opening of the year -- finally unseating March releases like “ Dune: Part Two “ and “ Godzilla x Kong.” “For the entire industry that works for theatrical, this is a huge turning point for 2024,” Daniel Loria of Boxoffice Pro said. “This is the sort of weekend we’ve been waiting for.” As the only major release of the weekend in the US, its theatrical footprint was equally impressive playing on 400 IMAX screens, over 900 “premium large format” screens and over 2500 3D screens. This recommitment to theatrical comes after Disney sent several Pixar films straight to its streaming service, Disney+, over the pandemic including Soul, Luca and Turning Red. Last month, the New York Times reported that Pixar had decided to return its focus to feature films (and not producing shows for Disney+) and that it had laid off 14 per cent of its workforce (about 175 employees).“As important as this weekend is for the industry at large, for Pixar this is huge. They’ve been trying to get their groove back since the pandemic,“ Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore, said. “They’ve really come back big.” Second place went to Sony’s Bad Boys: Ride Or Die, now in its second weekend with $50m, down only 42 per cent from its opening. In just 12 days, it’s already earned over $170m in North America and $324m globally. As of Friday, the four-film franchise had crossed the $1.5b mark. “Bad Boys’” success last weekend was the start of a higher-earning turnaround for the lagging summer movie season. For Hollywood, the summer season, which runs from the first weekend in May through Labor Day, usually represents about 40 per cent of the yearly box office. The deficit is still significant, with ticket sales down 28 per cent for the summer and 24 per cent for the year (and this is still before “Barbenheimer“) but it’s progress in a more promising direction nonetheless. “We’re not going to get there overnight,” Dergarabedian said. “But it’s good news for theaters. And we have some big movies on the way.” On the ground, theater owners saw their cineplexes come to life this weekend. “It has been magical,” said Jeff Whipple, a vice president for Megaplex Theaters. “We have seen literally generations of families brought together for this movie.” Megaplex Theaters operates 15 locations and 173 screens in Utah and Southern Nevada. And the energy was palpable, Whipple said. Not only have families been hanging around after the showtimes to discuss the film; They’ve also been scoping out what’s coming next with kids taking pictures of the “Despicable Me 4” posters and displays and dads taking note of the “Deadpool & Wolverine” date. “I think word is going to spread on this film and help draw people into theaters throughout the summer,” Whipple said.