‘Inside Out 2’ scores massive $155-million opening

AP:

Hollywood’s summer movie anxieties gave way to joy this weekend with the massive debut of Disney and Pixar’s Inside Out 2. The animated sequel earned $155 million in ticket sales from 4,440 theatres in the US and Canada, according to studio estimates on Sunday.

Not only is it the second-highest opening weekend in Pixar’s nearly 29 years of making films and the second-biggest animated opening ever, it’s also the biggest of 2024. With an estimated $140 million from international showings, Inside Out 2 had a staggering, and record-breaking, $295-million global start.

The success is significant for Pixar, marking a much-needed return to form for a studio that has had a string of underwhelming launches, including Elemental, which did eventually become a success, and Lightyear, which didn’t. It’s also vitally important for the greater Hollywood ecosystem and the health of theatrical exhibition, which had been running at a 26 per cent deficit before this weekend.

“This is a monumental weekend for movie theatres,” said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore.

Kelsey Mann directed Inside Out 2, which picks up with Riley as she turns 13. That means the arrival of new emotions like Anxiety (Maya Hawke), Ennui (Adèle Exarchopoulos), Envy (Ayo Edebiri) and Embarrassment (Paul Walter Hauser) to the mix. It got glowing reviews from critics (92 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes) and polled audiences who gave it an A CinemaScore.

Second place went to Sony’s Bad Boys: Ride or Die, now in its second weekend with $33 million.

Bad Boys’ success last weekend was the start of a higher-earning turnaround for the lagging summer movie season. For Hollywood, the summer season, which runs from the first weekend in May through Labour Day, usually represents about 40 per cent of the yearly box office. The deficit is still significant, with ticket sales down 28 per cent for the summer and 24 per cent for the year.

On the ground, theatre owners saw their cineplexes come to life this weekend.

“It has been magical,” said Jeff Whipple, a vice-president for Megaplex Theaters. “We have seen literally generations of families brought together for this movie.”

Megaplex Theaters operates 15 locations and 173 screens in Utah and Southern Nevada. And the energy was palpable, Whipple said. Not only have families been hanging around after the showtimes to discuss the film, they’ve also been scoping out what’s coming next, with kids taking pictures of the Despicable Me 4 posters and displays, and dads taking note of the Deadpool & Wolverine release.