For the first time since Warner Bros.’ “Barbie” took the box office by storm last summer, the team at Shankweiler’s Drive-In Theatre in Orefield, Pa., has been forced to turn dozens of cars away from its four-acre, 300-parking space lot.
The cause? Huge demand for Pixar’s “Inside Out 2.” “It was a very hard winter. It was a bumpy spring,” said the drive-in’s co-owner, Lauren McChesney.
“This has kind of changed everything for us right now.” For months, theater owners have been lamenting the sorry state of the box office. Ticket sales are down 24% so far this year compared to 2023.
Would-be blockbusters, including “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” and “The Fall Guy,” have fizzled. But the success of “Inside Out 2” has brought welcome relief to beleaguered theater owners, as well as Walt Disney Co.-owned Pixar , especially during the all-important summer movie season.
The sequel to 2015’s “Inside Out” notched a massive domestic opening weekend , hauling in $155 million, shattering pre-release projections that ranged from $80 million to $100 million. The movie’s total global box office revenue is now about $295 million. “We thought that it would be popular,” McChesney said.
“We weren’t actually expecting it to sell out.” Analysts said the movie lighted a spark for this quarter’s box office revenue, providing hope that this year’s box office declines are a reversible trend. “You never want to get too high after one good weekend,.