We want good movies to succeed. So when we hear that Inside Out is off to a strong – even record-breaking – start at the box office, we feel like Amy Poehler’s animated character, Joy.
Variety reports that Inside Out earned $3.7 million in the U.S. on Thursday night in early previews, which is a record for the animation giant (as well as for Disney Animation Studios, as a whole). The trade site notes that recent Pixar fare like Monsters University earned $2.6 million, while the Disney animated features Big Hero 6 and even Frozen opened to $1.4M and $1.2M, respectively. And we all know how successful Frozen was during its entire run.
The funny thing is, very few analysts expect Inside Out to win the weekend. Colin Trevorrow’s Jurassic World likely will hold on to about 50% of its previous take, meaning that a $100-million weekend for the massive dinosaur sequel could keep Inside Out out of the top slot on the weekend charts.
But with Pixar’s latest, longevity is key. The movie has been earning staggering reviews (it notched a perfect 5-star grade from our own Eric Eisenberg), and word-of-mouth from satisfied patrons – particularly parents and families – could keep audiences flocking to Inside Out until Minions steals a bit of its thunder.
The Pete Docter-directed Inside Out takes place inside the mind of 11-year-old Riley, who has moved with her family from Minnesota to San Francisco because her father took a new job. With the move comes a mixture of new emotions, and while Joy (Amy Poehler) has controlled the bulk of Riley’s memories, she’s starting to lose control to Sadness (Phyllis Smith). It’s a brilliant throwback to early Pixar, where genius animators take ordinary circumstances and view them through an extraordinary prism.
Pixar has fared well at the box office in the past. The highest-grossing film in the company’s history remains Toy Story 3, which banked $415M domestically back in 2010. After that, the Top 3 round out with Finding Nemo ($339M) and Up ($293M). It will be interesting to see how far Inside Out can climb up the Pixar box office chart in the next few weeks. And also, if it ends up being a smash hit, if it will inspire a sequel, like Finding Dory or Monsters University. Are you going to Inside Out this weekend? Let us know in the comments section below what you thought.
