With over a decade since the release of 2004's The Incredibles, it would be easy to think that the time for a sequel had passed and that fans would no longer be interested in revisiting this world. But Incredibles 2 is proving that the 14-year wait between films did nothing to dull the enthusiasm for the Pixar property. In fact, the years of waiting may actually have been an advantage for Incredibles 2, as all that built-up anticipation is blasting the sequel to incredible heights at the box office. Incredibles 2 is off to a phenomenal start at theaters, pulling in $18.5 million in Thursday night preview screenings.
This $18.5 million blows Finding Dory out of the water to become the best Thursday night preview numbers for an animated film, besting the $9.2 million that the film earned in 2016. Finding Dory currently holds the record for an opening weekend for an animated movie at $135 million. The tracking for Incredibles 2 heading into this weekend started at around $110 million before jumping to $140 million. Forbes also notes that, barring an unusual drop off in the next few days, Incredibles 2 should best that fishy sequel to become the new record holder for best opening weekend for an animated movie. The real question now is how high can Incredibles 2 fly.
We don't yet know how Incredibles 2 will play at the box office. The Thursday night preview screenings were huge, but it remains to be seen if the film will be more front-loaded like many superhero and blockbuster titles, or if it will play out more like a family film with a more even distribution. Forbes postulates that on the low-end, if Incredibles 2's Thursday night haul makes up around 15% of the weekend, then it would be on track for a $123 million. But that is probably the lowest we can expect, and there's a good chance that Thursday's numbers will make up a smaller percentage, and the film it will do far better than that.
There are also a lot of positive things fueling the success of the film at the box office that should help it reach a record-breaking debut. The reviews, including our own, are incredibly positive, reflecting a sequel that lives up to its predecessor, the Pixar name and the other venerated sequels in the studio's canon. There is also the nostalgia for the property and the fact that it is a family film with something for everyone, no matter their age, in a time when theater screens have been lacking something of that ilk. Incredibles 2 is an absolute blast with heart, humor and the kind of action that ranks up there with the very best we see from live-action superhero movies.
Incredibles 2 is in theaters now. Check out everything that you need to remember about The Incredibles (it has been 14 years) before you see the sequel and find out what ticket you should buy. Once you've seen Incredibles 2, come back and let us know what you think.
