‘Inside Out 2’ Brings Joy at the Box Office

How has ‘Inside Out 2’ performed at the box office?

In Disney and Pixar’s “Inside Out 2,” Joy (voice of Amy Poehler), Sadness (voice of Phyllis Smith), Anger (voice of Lewis Black), Fear (voice of Tony Hale) and Disgust (voice of Liza Lapira) are awakened to an alarming reality: everything is changing now that Riley is 13. Directed by Kelsey Mann and produced by Mark Nielsen, ‘Inside Out 2’ releases only in theaters Summer 2024. © 2023 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.

The new Pixar sequel smashed expectations (Disney was projecting closer to $90 million), with $155 million in its first weekend, the highest opening since ‘Barbie’ last summer (Greta Gerwig’s movie opened to $162 million).

Without adjusting for inflation, that marks the second-highest domestic opening for an animated movie (behind the company’s ‘Incredibles 2’ in 2018) and put it far beyond the first ‘Inside Out’, which opened to $90 million.

Garnering good scores from critics and audiences, the new movie also did well overseas, taking in $140 million, enough to surpass ‘Frozen II’ ($135 million and yes, another Disney effort) as the biggest overseas animated opening of all time.

Globally, the movie has kicked off its run with $295 million.

What’s the story of ‘Inside Out 2’?

(L to R) Envy (voice of Ayo Edebiri), Anxiety (voice of Maya Hawke), Disgust (voice of Liza Lapira), Anger (voice of Lewis Black), Fear (voice of Tony Hale) and Sadness (voice of Phyllis Smith). Directed by Kelsey Mann and produced by Mark Nielsen, ‘Inside Out 2’ releases only in theaters June 14, 2024. © 2024 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.

The movie follows up from the original by revisiting the emotions in Riley’s (Kensington Tallman) head. We’re back with Joy (Amy Poehler), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Fear (Tony Hale, replacing Bill Hader), Anger (Lewis Black) and Disgust (Liza Lapira, replacing Mindy Kaling), who have gotten into a good groove guiding and reacting to the life of their tween charge.

But they’re rudely awakened one night by the Puberty alarm, and even more disturbed by a work crew arriving to demolish the control center, preparing to rebuild it to accommodate some new emotions, including Anxiety (Maya Hawke), Embarrassment (Paul Walter Hauser), Envy (Ayo Edebiri) and Ennui (Adèle Exarchopoulos).

Soon, the new emotions are taking over running Riley’s life as she deals with new challenges and concerns, while the original crew are left bottled up in the back of her mind. Can they make their way back to figure out how to balance things out?

Related Article: Movie Review: ‘Inside Out 2’

Will there be an ‘Inside Out 3’?

Pixar’s ‘Inside Out 2’. © 2022 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.

Unlike the end of ‘Inside Out’, which teased the possibility of a further story –– the idea of the Riley character hitting puberty, which indeed was picked up here –– ‘Inside Out 2’ post-credit sequence is largely dedicated to revisiting a joke from midway in the movie.

There is, of course, plenty of material to tackle with other life stages for Riley, but few of them would seem to be particularly family friendly. Still, with the huge success of this new movie, expect Disney bosses to at least ask Team Pixar to explore options.

Where next for the summer movie season?

(L to R) Hugh Jackman as Wolverine/Logan and Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool/Wade Wilson in 20th Century Studios/Marvel Studios’ ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios/Marvel Studios. © 2024 20th Century Studios / © and ™ 2024 MARVEL.

This is obviously a reason to hope that audiences are finally embracing theatrical moviegoing again and with any luck, the likes of ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ and the new ‘Despicable Me 4’ will keep the cash truck rolling.

Pixar’s ‘Inside Out 2’. © 2022 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.

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