Move over anxiety, there’s a new dominant emotion at the box office: Joy! Disney and Pixar ‘s expressive animated sequel “ Inside Out 2 ” scored a mighty $155 million in its first weekend of release, overtaking “Dune: Part Two” ($82.5 million) and “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” ($80 million) as the biggest opening of the year. It’s also the first release since last July’s “Barbie” ($162 million) to debut above $100 million.
Heading into the weekend, the follow-up film to 2015’s cerebral hit “Inside Out” was projected to collect $80 million to $90 million. The second “Inside Out 2” also connected at the international box office with $140 million, enough to surpass “Frozen 2” ($135 million) as the biggest overseas animated opening of all time. Turnout was especially strong across Latin America, where it landed the second-biggest opening of all time behind Disney’s Marvel epic “Avengers: Endgame.
” Globally, the movie has grossed $295 million to notch the title for biggest animated debut in like-for-like markets at current exchange rates. It carries a $200 million production budget. “Inside Out 2” marks a huge win for theaters, which have been nervously waiting for the dismal summer season to take off.
It’s also a triumph for Pixar, which has struggled at the box office in recent years as Disney sent films like “Turning Red,” “Soul” and “Luca” directly to Disney+ during the pandemic. Pixar chief Pete Docter, who dir.
