Inside Out 2 Heads for Historic Box Office Opening of $140-150 Million

Where do we begin to describe the emotions Hollywood and theater owners felt over the stunning debut of Inside Out 2 at the box office – not to mention Pixar and its parent company Disney. (Hint: sadness is not one of them.)

The family tentpole earned $62 million on Friday, well above expectations and puts the film on track for a release in the $140-150 million range domestically over the Holiday weekend. fathers, one of the three best starts ever for an animated film and a near-record for the legendary Pixar. Rival studios believe that amount could rise to between $155 million and $160 million, but Disney is being more cautious. Friday's win includes a whopping $13 million in Thursday previews.

The news is just as good abroad, where the film is enjoying just as much success.

Heading into the weekend, the $200 million sequel was poised to debut in North America in the $90 million range, in line with the first film, which went on to gross nearly $860 million worldwide. Instead, Inside Out 2 will be the first film since barbie nearly a year away from crossing $100 million when it launched, a symbol of how tough the box office has been so far in 2024 due to strike-related delays and a slowdown precipitated cinema attendance. (barbie opened to $162 million domestically.)

Thanks to Inside Out 2 and Sony Bad Boys: Ride or Die, now in its second phase, overall domestic box office revenue will be up from last year for the first time this year. This weekend is expected to take place in 28 percent of the same setting last year when DC's The flash and Pixar Elementary opened to disappointing numbers. (The flash quickly collapsed, while Elementary finally managed to find his rhythm.)

Bad Boys 4featuring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, is expected to drop just 44% in its second weekend, to $31.5 million, as it crosses the $100 million mark domestically.

Another version of Pixar Incredibles 2 is the crown holder for best animated opening ($182.7 million), followed by Illumination and Universal's The Super Mario Bros. movie. ($146.4 million), Pixar Finding Dory ($135.1 million) and Walt Disney Animation's Frozen II ($130.3 million).

Inside Out 2 It's just what the doctor ordered for Pixar, which has endured several years of strife, including when the old Disney regime decided to direct-stream a trio of Pixar films.

The film is receiving rave reviews and is currently among the top five highest-rated Pixar films on Rotten Tomatoes with a critical score of 93 percent. It earned an A CinemaScore, while the Rotten Tomatoes score of 96 percent is the best ever for Pixar.

Directed by Kelsey Mann, the sequel introduces a whole new set of emotions that are brought to “Headquarters” when the story's young heroine, Riley, becomes a teenager.

Joy, sadness, anger, fear and disgust are not sure how to feel about the arrival of anxiety, envy, boredom and embarrassment. Amy Poehler leads the voice cast which also includes Maya Hawke, Kensington Tallman, Liza Lapira, Tony Hale, Lewis Black, Phyllis Smith, Ayo Edebiri, Lilimar, Grace Lu, Sumayyah Nuriddin-Green, Adèle Exarchopoulos, Diane Lane, Kyle MacLachlan, Paul Walter Hauser and Yvette Nicole Brown.

Inside Out 2 started its box office with a joyous $13 million in Thursday night previews, well beyond expectations. Traffic was so strong Friday that it became clear the film would take at least $130 million to $140 million domestically. By late evening, rival studios were announcing estimates ranging from $140 million to $150 million, but Disney and Pixar continue to take a more circumspect approach.