Inside Out 2 (Inside Out 2) from Disney and Pixar already grossed $13 million in Thursday previews en route to a projected opening weekend of $80 million to $100 million across the United States, media reported Friday, putting the Disney sequel on track to snag the coveted title of biggest movie of 2024, so far.
Disney and Pixar released the highly anticipated sequel to Inside Out 2015 this week, with the official premiere on Friday night, following the success of its predecessor, which won an Academy Award for best animated film and was nominated for best original screenplay.
Pixar is looking to bounce back from a series of flops, including 2022’s Buzz Lightyear origin story, Lightyearwhich grossed $118.3 million in the United States with a $50.6 million opening, thanks to lukewarm reviews and rejection from religious conservatives, as well as Elementary last year, which grossed $154.4 million after a $29.6 million debut.
With Inside Out 2Pixar could see the biggest opening since its 2015 predecessor, which grossed $90.4 million in the United States in 2015, or toy Story 3which grossed $110.3 million in its opening weekend in the United States in 2010.
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If the weekend projection holds, it would also surpass a group of 2024 blockbusters and a significantly larger set of box office flops, taking the top spot for this year’s opening weekend, ahead of Dune: Part Twowhich grossed $82.5 million in its opening weekend in the United States, as well as Godzilla Vs. kong (80 million dollars), Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (58.4 million dollars) and Kung Fu Panda 4 (58 million dollars).
In its first days in theaters, critics and audiences raved about Pixar’s sequel: Rotten Tomatoes audiences gave it a score of 95% and critics rated it almost as well at 93%. Those scores put it in range of its 2015 predecessor, which boasted a 98% critics score and an 89% audience score on the site.
Inside Out 2‘predictably charming sequel’
In his review, the New York Times praise Inside Out 2 as a “predictably charming sequel,” delving into new emotions of anxiety, envy, and shame, all personified in the brain of teenage protagonist Riley.
Despite that charm, other critics have not been as favorable, and NPR called it “imperfect” and not “as emotionally overwhelming as its predecessor,” while Guardian lamented that the plot feels “a little convoluted and repetitive.”
Intensely has earned $356.4 million at the US box office since its release in 2015, plus another $501.1 million internationally, according to Box Office Mojo.
While it’s a far cry from Pixar’s best-performing film, The Incredibles 2 of 2018 ($608.6 million), still ranks fifth on the animation studio’s list, behind a group of sequels including Finding Dory (486.3 million dollars), toy story 4 (434 million dollars) and toy Story 3 (415 million dollars).
This article was originally published in Forbes US
