Inside Out 2 becomes first 2024 film to hit $1bn at global box office

Animated film has held top spot at box office for three consecutive weekends

Inside Out 2 has grossed $1bn in global box office collections faster than any animated film ever.

The Disney and Pixar film has also become the first film in 2024 to touch the milestone.

Inside Out 2 follows 13-year-old Riley as she takes on new emotions — Anxiety, Envy, Ennui, Embarrassment — which go up against the feelings from the first film of Joy, Fear and Anger.

Directed by Kelsey Mann, the sequel adds Maya Hawke, Ayo Edebiri, Adèle Exarchopoulos, Paul Walter Hauser, Kensington Tallman, and June Squibb to the cast, with Amy Poehler and Phyllis Smith returning.

The film, which released in theatres on 14 June, made $151m domestically and overtook Dune: Part 2 with the biggest opening of the year. Inside Out 2 is also the first film since Barbie, from July last year, to make over $100m on the opening weekend.

Since its release, Inside Out 2 has held its top spot at the box office for three consecutive weekends and grossed $1.015bn globally.

Last week, Inside Out 2 surpassed the lifetime gross of 2015’s Inside Out, which opened with $90m on its opening weekend and made $859m worldwide.

“On behalf of movie theatre owners across the country and around the world, we want to congratulate Disney’s Inside Out 2 for grossing $1bn faster than any animated movie in history,” Michael O’Leary, president and CEO of the National Association of Theatre Owners, said.

“The film’s stunning global success once again illustrates that audiences the world over will respond to compelling, entertaining movies, and that they want to enjoy them on the big screen.”

Joy, voiced by Amy Poehler; Anger, voiced by Lewis Black; Disgust, voiced by Liza Lapira; Envy, voiced by Ayo Edebiri; Anxiety, voiced by Maya Hawke, in ‘Inside Out 2’ (Disney/Pixar)

According to data from Comscore, domestic box office sales had been lagging 25 per cent behind those of 2023 until the release of Inside Out 2, which has given a jolt to the sluggish 2024 box office.

Inside Out 2 is one of 11 animated films to have made over $1bn, joining hits like The Incredibles 2, Finding Dory, Frozen and its sequel, and the final two Toy Story instalments.

The Independent’s Clarisse Loughrey gave Inside Out 2 four stars, and describes it as “a film that’s been packed to the rafters with silly, witty observations”, adding that the “cynicism-free sequel might just save Pixar”.