‘Inside Out 2’ makes other studios envious with a $100M second weekend
The Pixar sequel has one of the best second weekends in box office history.
Hello! Welcome to The Box Office Report for the weekend of June 21-23, 2024.
1. Inside Out 2
Weekend gross: $100M
Total domestic gross: $355.2M
Last weekend: 1st
Percent drop: 35
Disney and Pixar Studios wanted (needed?) Inside Out 2 to be a hit. After a run of box office disappointments (partially driven by Disney conditioning audiences to see Pixar films as streaming options instead of theatrical viewing), the studio was hopeful that this sequel would find a hint of Pixar’s old magic.
Inside Out 2 found that magic — and more. After a $154.2 million debut last weekend (the 25th biggest opening weekend in domestic history, Pixar’s second biggest opening weekend, and the first film of 2024 to open with $100M+), Inside Out 2 had a second weekend that once again blew away expectations.
The film notched the seventh $100 million second weekend ever(besting the $93 million that Barbie grossed in its second frame last year in the process), joining Star Wars: The Force Awakens ($149.2 million), Avengers: Endgame ($147.4 million), Avengers: Infinity War ($114.8 million), Black Panther ($111.7 million), Jurassic World ($106.6 million) and The Avengers ($103.1 million).
(I’ve seen some thinking on social media that we’ll see Inside Out 2’s actual number come in at $99 million on Monday, with Disney putting its weekend estimate at $100 million since that makes a much cooler headline.)
Inside Out 2 is easily the biggest hit of 2024, with its $355.2 million North American haul passing Dune: Part Two’s $282.1 million. The film’s second weekend is also more than any other film’s opening weekend for the year. (Dune: Part Two’s $82.5 million was 2024’s biggest debut until Inside Out 2 came along.)
This one is obviously a massive hit for Pixar. Inside Out 2’s domestic haul already stands at No. 7 among the studio’s releases, passing Up’s $293 million. (The original Inside Out sits at No. 6 with $356.5 million, meaning Inside Out 2 will pass it by the end of Monday.) Worldwide, Inside Out 2’s $581.9 million stands at No. 12 for the studio.
It’s hard to overstate how big of a deal Inside Out 2’s success is for Pixar. Its domestic gross is the studio’s best number since Toy Story 4 landed at $434 million in 2019, breaking a string of post-pandemic disappointments from Lightyear ($118.3 million) and Elemental ($154.4 million). As I mentioned last week, I’m very curious to see if this is a return to form for Pixar. Will next summer’s Elio find box office success too? Or is this a blip for Pixar, a one-off success fueled by a sequel to a beloved and established Pixar film?
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2. Bad Boys: Ride or Die
Weekend gross: $18.8M
Total domestic gross: $146.9M
Last weekend: 2nd
Percent drop: 44
Things are going very well for Bad Boys: Ride or Die. The fourth Bad Boys film has already passed the original Bad Boys ($65.6 million) and Bad Boys II ($138.5 million) at the domestic box office. It’s neck and neck with Bad Boys for Life, using an $18.8 million third weekend to fuel its North American haul to $146.9, almost matching the $148.1 million that its predecessor had through three weekends.
