Weekend Box Office

Weekend Box Office: Inside Out 2 Scores Best Opening Weekend Since Barbie

The Pixar sequel raked in $155 million for the second-best animated opening ever and will easily become the biggest movie of the summer in just a few days.

by Erik Childress | June 16, 2024 | Comments

By June 16 in 2023, there were 17 films that had grossed $50 million or more. In 2024 there have been 15 (with Challengers on the verge of making it 16). At the end of this weekend there are seven films to cross the $100 million line but only one to cross $200 million. Last year, nine films had crossed $100 million, with three of those over $200 million, one over $300 million and one well over half a billion. With all the panic going on out there, basically 2024 is just missing a few of those blockbusters that would calm some nerves. Plus Godzilla x Kong and Kung Fu Panda nearly made it three $200 million titles on the year. But that list will increase by at least one very soon, as audiences showed they’ve been waiting for the new film from Pixar that opened this past weekend even better than that $500 million grosser from last year.

King of the Crop: Inside Out 2 Scores Best Opening Weekend Since Barbie

Well, the Pixar film isn’t entirely new, but all the other nine-digit films this year have been sequels as well, so who’s judging? Disney/Pixar’s Inside Out 2 became the 25th film to begin in at least 4,400 theaters and the first film of the year to have an opening weekend of nine digits, nearly doubling the opening of Dune: Part Two ($82.5 million) and soon to become the second highest-grossing film of the year. By Sunday, Inside Out 2 has already outgrossed Lightyear and Elemental; those were the last two Pixar releases to see theaters since the pandemic. Inside Out 2 opened with $155 million (the best opening since last July’s Barbie) making it the second-best animated opening in history (ahead of last year’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie’s $146.3 million). Pixar owns the top film on that list, Incredibles 2 ($182.6 million), and their sequel success continues from there with Finding Dory ($135 million), Toy Story 4 ($120 million), and Toy Story 3 ($110 million) rounding out their top five; the only five to open north of $100 million. Sixth on that list is the original Inside Out with $90.4 million. It went on to gross over $356 million domestic and $856 million worldwide. Those other nine digit openers represent the four billion-dollar grossers in the Pixar canon.

Inside Out also had the second-best second weekend in June ever behind Jurassic World ($208.8 million) and ahead of Jurassic World: Dominion ($148 million), as well as having the third-best June weekend of all-time. Of the seven films to open between just $100-121 million, four of them went on to gross over $400 million (including Toy Story 3 and 4.) Last year’s Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse finished with $381.5 million. Only Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel and Michael Bay’s Transformers: Age of Extinction failed to reach $300 million, and unless you are a Twilight film, any opener over $138 million secures $300 million with ease. Eight of the 12 $100 million openers in June grossed over $400 million domestic. All in all, these are great numbers for the Pixar sequel. The summer of 2024 finally has its first true blue blockbuster and will take the No. 1 spot of the season in just four days, and it has clear sailing until July 3 when Despicable Me 4 opens. Worldwide the film is already over $295 million as it begins its march to become the year’s first billion-dollar grosser.

**The Top 10 and Beyond: Bad Boys Does Decent, the Rest Battle for Scraps**

Last week’s summer season boost, Bad Boys: Ride or Die, is down to second with a drop of 42% for $33 million. That brings its 10-day total to $112 million, surpassing the pace of another R-rated buddy cop comedy sequel, 22 Jump Street. That film had $109.9 million after 10 days and a second weekend of $27.4 million, ultimately ending with a $191 million finish. Another good hold next week with little competition could keep Lawrence and Smith on a pace to hit $200 million or join Kung Fu Panda 4 and Godzilla x Kong in coming up just shy. Worldwide the film is over $200 million. Once it hits $250 million, we’ll be talking nothing but profit.

Moving back up to third place this week is the still current summer champion, at least for a few more days. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes fell just 4% to $5.2 million and is back on its John Wick 3 pace. Apes has nearly $158 million after 38 days of release, while Wick 3 had $156.2 million after a sixth weekend of $4.08 million in just 1,607 theaters. Apes is still in 2,600 this weekend, and if the drops hold the way Wick did in the next few weeks, the film may be able to stretch up to $175 million after all. That will help the film get closer to $400 million, the number it needs for there to be a theatrical profit conversation. Right now the film stands at $374 million globally.

Taking the hit from Inside Out 2 as expected were the two family films in release this summer. After a couple of decent drops, The Garfield Movie met its match this weekend as it dropped down to $5 million. Its total is $78.5 million, which pretty much quashes any faint hope some had that it might hit $100 million. No worries for Sony, though, as the film as already well into profit with over $217 million worldwide. John Krasinski’s IF, on the other hand, is hitting $100 million this weekend after a 56% drop down to $3.4 million. But with a budget $50 million higher than Garfield and a global total of just $172 million, the film is far away from breaking even while still in theaters.

Dropping halfway from last week and out of the top five is Isahana Shyamalan’s The Watchers with $3.6 million. The $30 million production has grossed just $13.6 million domestic and is going to struggle to reach $20 million. That is going to be a loser for Warner Bros., but it unfortunately is still nothing compared to Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, which fell to $2.4 million in its fourth weekend and has now grossed $63.1 million in North America and just over $150 million globally. What a major disappointment for a studio that dumped high-profile films like Batgirl and Coyote vs. Acme for tax breaks.

Rounding out the top 10 is David Leitch’s The Fall Guy, which, in its seventh weekend, grossed $1.5 million to bring its total to $87.9 million and $168 million worldwide, more than Furiosa. The biggest horror film of the year to date, Renny Harlin’s The Strangers: Chapter 1, added another $760,000 to bring its total to $33.9 million. With few offerings out there, a single-day Saturday showing of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring by Fathom Events grossed $633,000 in 1,035 theaters, which was enough to sneak into the top 10.

Finally, in limited release, A24’s release of Tuesday snuck into the top 10 with just $292,000. The film jumped from 2 theaters into 654 this week. Opening in 650 theaters was Bleecker Street’s Treasure with Stephen Fry and Lena Dunham. It grossed just $243,000 for a $375 per-theater average.

On the Vine: Some Bikeriders, A Few Kinds of Kindness, and An Exorcism

Next week, Jeff Nichols’ The Bikeriders arrives in theaters after being delayed during last year’s awards season, dropped by Searchlight Pictures, and subsequently picked up by Focus, who haven’t have a $4 million opening since last year’s My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3. The Bikeriders is currently Fresh on the Tomatometer, thanks to some late festival runs last year. Searchlight, meanwhile, is releasing the latest from Yorgos Lanthimos in limited theaters. His nearly three-hour anthology film, Kinds of Kindness, is also currently Fresh. Then Russell Crowe is following up last year’s The Pope’s Exorcist with The Exorcism — no relation. Vertical Entertainment hopes to get into the top 10.

Full List of Box Office Results: June 14-16, 2024

91% Inside Out 2 (2024) – $155 million ($155 million total)
65% Bad Boys: Ride or Die (2024) – $33 million ($112.2 million total)
80% Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (2024) – $5.2 million ($157.8 million total)
37% The Garfield Movie (2024) – $5 million ($78.5 million total)
50% IF (2024) – $3.4 million ($100.9 million total)
32% The Watchers (2024) – $3.6 million ($13.6 million total)
90% Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024) – $2.4 million ($63.1 million total)
82% The Fall Guy (2024) – $1.5 million ($87.9 million total)
21% The Strangers: Chapter 1 (2024) – $760,000 ($33.9 million total)
92% The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) – $633,000 ($3.09 million total)