The year has been quite monumental for a lot of films, while some have performed exceptionally well and others not so much. The same theory goes for Pixar, which used to be a success machine for creating high-quality and commercially successful movies. However, the back-to-back failures of Lightyear and Elemental put the American animation studio in the backseat.
But with Inside Out 2, the studio has once again regained its much-deserved spot and has also achieved a significant feat. Not only did the studio manage to mint out a highly successful movie, but it also dethroned Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part 2 at the box office.
The triumph of Inside Out 2 over Dune: Part 2
It’s safe to say that Pixar, which was in the past reeling from Lightyear and Elemental’s failure, has completely turned around thanks to Inside Out 2’s box office triumph. Even after a week since its debut on June 14, Inside Out 2 is still going strong.
The Hollywood Reporter reports that after collecting over $283 million in ticket sales compared to Dune: Part 2’s $282.1 million domestically, the film has surpassed the Zendaya starrer to become the highest-grossing film of 2024.
While the number seems quite close, Inside Out 2 is leading the global charts, with sales crossing the $500 million mark. While in the overseas counting, Dune: Part 2 is still standing on top with $711.8 million in ticket sales. Further, according to THR, Inside Out 2 can finish out its second weekend with ticket sales ranging between $600-$700 million.
Nonetheless, considering the enormous popularity that the first Inside Out movie had from fans, this success doesn’t come as a shock. Further, considering that the film had a $200 million budget, it has undoubtedly made back every penny of its investment and more. While the movie performed spectacularly at the box office, before its release, Pete Docter disclosed some milestones for the film’s success.
Pete Docter reveals his expectations from Inside Out 2
The movie’s first installment, which debuted in 2015, unleashed a wave of new emotions and revealed a whole new world within our own brains. Inside Out was directed by the visionary Pete Docter and raised the bar of the animation genre to a whole new level, so the stakes for the second one were quite high, which Docter fully understands.
Before Inside Out 2 was released, Docter noted in an interview with TIME that it might be quite challenging to come up with new ideas that would appeal to a larger audience. However, he also mentioned how many individuals these films had helped and added-
A lot of people say, ‘I totally thought toys came to life when I wasn’t in my room.’ ‘I totally believed there were monsters in my closet.’
He went on to respond to the topic of why Pixar has been putting so much effort into making sequels by saying that the goal is to release films and plots that people are already familiar with. In the event that an individual has viewed the movie previously, they can be confident that they will enjoy the sequel. To add even more, he said sequels are superior in that regard.
Inside Out 2 was released on June 14, 2024, in theaters worldwide.
