‘Inside Out 2’ Tops $13 Million in Previews, Most of Any 2024 Film

Get out of the way, Sadness: “Inside Out 2” just got the biggest box office previews of 2024.

Disney and PixarThe latest animated film grossed $13 million in Thursday previews domestically, plus $22.3 million internationally. The family sequel is projected to open to between $80 million and $90 million this weekend.

A high-profile debut would give “Inside Out 2” the biggest opening of the year. currently occupies the top two spots of 2024 with “Dune: Part Two” with US$82.5 million and “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” with US$80 million.

For reference, “Inside Out 2”’s $13 million at the domestic box office surpassed “The Little Mermaid” ($10.3 million), “Minions: The Rise of Gru” ($10.8 million) and “ Toy Story 4” ($12 million) from last year. . It falls a bit short of recent animated superhero sequels like “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” ($17.4 million) and “Incredibles 2” ($18.5 million).

Outside the US and Canada, “Inside Out 2” performed particularly well in Mexico, where it grossed $5.7 million in previews and marked the third biggest animated opening day in the country’s history. In Argentina, “Inside Out 2” had the second best animated opening day, behind only “Toy Story 4”. Furthermore, the film still has international projection, as it will be shown in several markets (such as France, Italy, Spain, China, Japan and Brazil) after its opening weekend.

The original “Inside Out,” which hit theaters in June 2015, debuted with $90.5 million domestically after $3.7 million in previews. The film grossed $356 million in North America and $858.8 million worldwide as families gathered to watch the surprisingly touching coming-of-age film. With a budget of US$200 million, “Inside Out 2” should approach the original’s highs.

The new film will also break Pixar’s recent streak of film premieres. Last year’s “Elemental” had Pixar’s lowest opening with $29.6 million, and before that the “Toy Story” spinoff “Lightyear” had a $50.5 million opening. “Soul,” “Turning Red” and “Luca” debuted on Disney+ amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and “Onward” had the misfortune of debuting just days before theaters closed.

“Inside Out’s” young protagonist, Riley, and her anthropomorphized emotions return in the sequel, including Amy Poehler as Joy, Phyllis Smith as Sadness, Lewis Black as Anger, Tony Hale as Fear and Liza Lapira as Disgust. Joining the group as Riley goes through puberty are Maya Hawke as Anxiety, Ayo Edebiri as Envy and Paul Walter Hauser as Embarrassment.

Last week’s blockbuster, Sony’s “Bad Boys: Ride or Die,” is aiming to gross about $28 million in its second weekend. With more than $125 million worldwide, the four-film franchise is approaching the $1 billion mark.