FRIDAY PM: There’s not stopping the influx of cash at theaters coast to coast for Disney/Pixar’s Inside Out 2 which is ending Friday at $60M, the second best opening day for an animated movie after the studio’s 2018 title Incredibles 2 at $71.2M. It’s also leaps and bounds ahead of the first day of last summer’s animated hit, Sony’s Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse which did $51.8M. All of this is leading to the third best opening ever for an animated movie after Incredibles 2 ($182.6M) and last year’s Super Mario Bros Movie ($146.3M 3-day).
Not a surprise, Inside Out 2 gets a solid A CinemaScore, which is the same grade as the first 2015 movie. The overperformance, as we told you earlier today, comes from the massive walk-up business from Latino and Hispanic moviegoers who are repping 42% of the sequel’s audience ahead of 31% Caucasian, 10% Black and 10% Asian crowds.
Ahead of the weekend, social media analytics corp RelishMix saw nothing but sunshine for the Kelsey Mann directed animated title, reporting, “Convo on Inside Out 2 runs positive as commenters are enticed by the conceit of this sequel and the promise of new emotions, saying, ‘Kind of interesting for there to be antagonists in a Disney movie about emotions. Complex vs Core emotions,’ and ‘Anxiety is a fantastic villain. The baggage, being buds with envy and embarrassment.’ Many fans of the original 2015 film are stoked about the return of one of their favorite Pixar films, saying, ‘I’m so excited to see the best Pixar movie sequel!’ and ‘The emotions are back after 9 years. Let’s go!!!’”
Social media reach for Inside Out 2 across TikTok, X, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube stands at 556.4M which is ahead of Kung Fu Panda 4 (353.5M) and Trolls Bands Together (287M), but below Minions: The Rise of Gru (668.4M). Stranger Things actress Maya Hawke, who voices the new character of Anxiety, is leading the charge among the voiceover cast on social with a reach of 10M-plus.
One notable clip that racked up views on YouTube was the “Booth to Screen” of the voiceover cast:
FRIDAY AFTERNOON: If there’s been any doubt that Disney+ has cannibalized the box office specifically in regards to Pixar movies, well, you can throw that theory out the window. That’s because this weekend Disney/Pixar’s Inside Out 2 is heading for the biggest opening of the year to date with $120M-$130M at 4,440 theaters. In fact, if the opening hits $150M (which is where rival studios see it), then it could be the second best stateside start for a Pixar movie after The Incredibles ($182.6M).
At least $56M is in the bank today including last night’s $13M. Sources tell me that there’s a huge turnout by Hispanic and Latino moviegoers in walk-ups, hence the big business.
In second, Sony’s Bad Boys: Ride or Die is keeping up against the whale that is Inside Out 2, down only -50% in weekend 2 with $28M and a $7.5M Friday and a $107.2M running total by Sunday at 3,885 sites.
20th Century Studios/Disney’s Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes refuses to leave the top five of the chart in its 6th weekend with $4.45M at 2,600 locations, -18%,, and a running cume of $157M.
Next is Alcon/Sony’s The Garfield Movie at 3,411 sites with a fourth weekend of $4.1M, -59% and running total of $77.6M.
Paramount’s IF in weekend 5 at 3,006 sites, is seeing a 5th weekend of $3.3M, -58%, and will cross the century mark on Sunday, Ryan Reynolds’ 11th headlining title to cross that mark.
FRIDAY AM: We got a hit on our hands as Disney/Pixar’s Inside Out 2 clocked $13M from Thursday previews that began at 3 p.m., the best so far in 2024. beating Dune: Part Two‘s $12M. The current Rotten Tomatoes scores are a 93% Certified Fresh rating from critics and 95% from moviegoers, setting up the movie for a potential $100M+ opening weekend. The running overseas cume is $22.3M.
Look for Inside Out 2 to blow past its $135M global opening projection.
You can easily say that when it comes to Pixar brands, absence makes the heart grow fonder. Also, unlike 2022’s Lightyear, the sequel brought back most of the voice cast. Out of the gate, Inside Out 2 is 4½ stars with Thursday preview audiences on Screen Engine/Comscore’s PostTrak, with 57% general audience, 23% parents and 21% kids under 12. Parents gave it five stars and kids 4½, the latter being girl-heavy at 52%, and parents being mom-heavy at 73%. Overall definite recommend is 72%. See, people and jaded Wall Street media? Moviegoing is still a lucrative pastime!
RELATED: 10 Most Anticipated Movies of Summer 2024 From ‘Inside Out 2’ to ‘Twisters’
Comps for Inside Out 2 are last year’s The Little Mermaid ($10.3M previews, $96M 3-day) and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse ($17.4M previews, $120.7M 3-day), 2022’s Minions: The Rise of Gru ($10.8M, $107M 3-day) and 2019’s Toy Story 4 ($12M previews, $120.9M). The record previews for a Pixar movie belong to Incredibles 2 at $18.5M, which resulted in a $182.7M opening in 2018.
RELATED: ‘Inside Out 2’ Craftspeople On Reworking Riley’s World For A Sequel & Bringing In New Emotions While Staying “True And Faithful To The Original Voice”
Inside Out 2‘s previews bury that of the 2015 original, which did $3.7M in previews that began at 7 p.m., which yielded a $90.4M opening.
Inside Out 2 is booked at 4,400 theaters with all the hormonal power of PLFs, Dbox, Dolby, Imax, etc.
RELATED: ‘Inside Out 2’ Off To Joyful Start At International Box Office; Sets Multiple Opening Day Records For Pixar
In more good news for moviegoing, Sony’s Bad Boys franchise is crossing the $1 billion global threshold today. Thursday stateside take for Bad Boys: Ride or Die was $4.48M, bringing its running cume, and first week, to $79.24M at 3,885 theaters.
The rest of the week and Thursday’s box office happened as follows:
2. The Garfield Movie (Sony) 3,959 theaters, Thursday $890K (-24% from Wed), -24%, Wk $14.9M/Total $73.5M/Wk 3
3. IF (Par) 3,582 theaters Thur $711K (-28%) Wk $11.9M, Total $97.4M/Wk 4
4. The Watchers (NL) 3,351 theaters, Thur $610K (-8%), Wk $10M/Wk 1
5. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (20th/Dis) 3,155 theaters, Thur $615K (-2%), Wk $8.2M, $152.6M/Wk 5