The only thing that will halt the progress of “Inside Out 2” at all, seemingly, is the forthcoming release of “Despicable Me 4,” which looks to dominate the Fourth of July holiday frame. Even with that, the insanely good word of mouth and strong international turnout for Disney’s animated behemoth should keep it going for weeks to come. The studio wisely committed to a long, exclusive theatrical window with this one. Don’t expect to see it rushed to Disney+.
Coupled with the remarkable turnaround for “Elemental” last year, it appears that Pixar is very much on its way back to firing on all cylinders. The animation studio had a rough couple of years, as “Soul,” “Luca,” and “Turning Red” were all dumped directly to Disney+, while “Lightyear” bombed at the box office in 2022. Things were looking bleak. Fortunately, Disney CEO Bob Iger has committed to turning things around and, at least for now, that appears to be working.
Looking at the bigger picture, “Inside Out 2” is now just the seventh movie to cross the $1 billion mark since the pandemic began, joining “Avatar: The Way of Water” ($2.32 billion), “Spider-Man: No Way Home” ($1.92 billion), “Top Gun: Maverick” ($1.49 billion), “Barbie” ($1.44 billion), “The Super Mario Bros. Movie “($1.36 billion), and “Jurassic World Dominion” ($1 billion). It will pass “Incredibles 2” ($1.24 billion) in the coming weeks to become Pixar’s biggest movie ever. If it can pass “Frozen II” ($1.45 billion), it will become the biggest animated movie ever, unless we count 2019’s “The Lion King” remake ($1.6 billion). But that’s another conversation entirely. For now, Disney has much to celebrate.
“Inside Out 2” is in theaters now.
