Bing Bong would be proud, as Riley and Joy may not have made it to the moon but have rocketed into the history books. Inside Out 2 has made history as the fastest animated film to reach the $1 billion mark at the global box office.
The sequel to Pixar’s incredible 2015 film, Inside Out, Inside Out 2 has audiences flocking to the cinema to see how Joy and the gang handle Riley becoming a teenager. Inside Out 2 continues where its predecessor left off, looking at the inner workings of Riley’s mind. In the first film, Riley is a child trying to overcome a huge shift in her life, a shift that leaves her feeling like she has no control over the future. It taught us that sometimes, sadness is a necessary emotion that we need to allow ourselves to feel. The first film was widely praised by critics, audiences, and therapists around the world, so when a sequel was announced, we were ready to jump in.
Inside Out 2 was teased at the end of the first film when a new control panel was installed with a button marked “puberty.” We jump in straight from there, as the movie introduces some new emotions. Ennui, Envy, Embarrassment, and Anxiety have joined the gang, and it’s chaos. As a result, Joy and the original emotions must navigate their relationship with these new feelings, just like Riley does as she goes through puberty. The second film has received just as much praise as the first, but it’s done more than that, too—it’s broken records.
The animated film is the first movie to surpass the $1 billion mark at the global box office since Barbie, making it the first film released in 2024 to do so. It is also the fastest animated film to reach the $1 billion mark ever, achieving this epic feat in just three weeks. Domestically, the film is also raising the bar, with Monday’s box office haul bringing the movie’s domestic earnings to $478 million. This has made Inside Out 2 the fourth-highest-grossing animated film of all time at the domestic box office, surpassing Frozen II. It only needs to make another $8 million to slide into third place to overtake Finding Dory, which sits at $486 million.
Globally, the film looks poised to overtake both Toy Story 3 ($1.06 billion) and Toy Story 4 ($1.07 billion) to become the sixth highest-grossing animated movie. There is a strong chance it can do it by the end of this week, and that’s not to mention that the film has yet to open in Japan, where the first film grossed $32.9 million.
Inside Out 2 will face competition soon, though, with Despicable Me 4 set to hit theatres this week. The family-friendly animation is set to be a big summer blockbuster and could knock Inside Out 2 off its throne. It still won’t erase any of the film’s achievements to date, however, or the ones still to come.
