Could ‘Inside Out 2’ Top ‘Barbie’ at the Box Office? After 10 Days, It’s Possible

No one saw this coming. “Inside Out 2” (Disney) fell only 35 percent in its second weekend. Following a great $154 million opening, huge initial weekdays, it’s added an estimated $100 million. That puts it at $355 million in only 10 days.

How big is that? Second only since COVID to “Spider-Man: No Way Home” in 2021, which had December 25 and 26 in the first 10 days of its opening, eventually grossing $470 million in that time. It even edges out “Barbie” ($351 million) and bests the full run of “Oppenheimer.”

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This is phenomenal. In many ways, this weekend is even more impressive than the strong debut. With less emphasis on premium screens and of course many lower-price tickets for kids, sales outpace any release since “No Way Home.” Kids also always elevate concessions, which makes the bounty for theaters even greater.

The total weekend gross will be around $152 million, an improvement of $41 million from last year and reducing the year-to-date shortfall to 21 percent. Combined with the decent run for “Bad Boys: Ride or Die” (Sony) with just under $19 million this weekend and $147 million through three weekends, it creates hope that momentum will carry over to other releases. “A Quiet Place: Day One” (Paramount) this Friday and “Despicable Me 4” (Universal) on July 3 will be the first tests.

“Inside Out 2” has become a mass event. Theaters report the very rare combination of all ages and a wide spectrum of demographics, often in large groups. The experience of sharing a fun movie seems to have become infectious and quickly spread. This has become increasingly difficult to achieve, but these result prove it can still happen — and it is hard to overestimate the value of this phenomenon.

Before the weekend, a $500 million domestic total seemed certain but reaching “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” ($574 million) or “Barbie” ($636 million) seemed unlikely. Now, it falls into the range of possibility. Worldwide, “Inside Out 2” already is at $724 million.

While the top two titles did more than 75 percent of the gross, several titles stood out on the specialized side. Jeff Nichols’ “The Bikeriders,” which debuted at Telluride 2023 and after a dispute between producer New Regency and Disney (owners of 20th Century Studios, who initially acquired the film) shifted to Focus, opened to $10 million and #3. That is at the high end of expectations, and justifies the risk of opening this in a prime summer weekend.

Searchlight opened “Kinds of Kindness,” their third consecutive film from Yorgos Lanthimos (“The Favourite,” “Poor Things”). Its $350,000 debut in five New York/Los Angeles theaters is by far the top platform opening this year. Indeed, the last one better was “Poor Things,” which opened in nine theaters last December with a $73,000 PTA.

“Kinds” will expand to top cities this Friday, then 1,000 screens in July. The expectation is this won’t do the crossover business of his two previous movies; it’s a return to the director’s more esoteric films and doesn’t have the heft of awards positioning. Still, it’s a great boost for specialized releasing.

Three other non-mainstream studio new releases also made the top 10. “Thelma” (Magnolia) starring 94-year-old June Squibb took eighth place with $2.2 million in 1,290 theaters. The Sundance 2024 film shows early indications of decent word of mouth, with potential for growth. “The Exorcism” (Vertical) with Russell Crowe ranked higher at #7 with over $2.4 million and 2,240 theaters, but its D Cinemascore suggests a quick fade. Meantime, Trafalgar’s “GHOST: Rite Here Rite Now” took in over $1.5 million for a concert film featuring the Swedish heavy metal band with limited event showings in 750 theaters. Including earlier shows, it is already over $2.6 million.

Another sign of box-office health: Three longer-run films held quite well. “IF” (Paramount) and “The Garfield Movie” (Sony) fell less than 25 percent; “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” (Disney) dropped only 35 percent. That shows audiences responding positively to a range of films.

On most weeks, the nearly $50,000 opening in two theaters (both New York) for A24’s “Janet Planet” would be the lead specialized news. From Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Annie Baker, this coming-of-age story with terrific reviews (Metacritic 87) will start its slow expansion However, A24’s “Tuesday” hasn’t caught on and lost around half of its theaters in its third weekend.

Agnieszka Holland’s acclaimed refugee drama “Green Border” (Kino Lorber) from Poland opened to $7,000 at New York’s Film Forum.

The Top 10

1. Inside Out 2 (Disney) Week 2; Last weekend #1

$100,000,000 (-35%) in 4,440 (no change) theaters; PTA (per theater average): $22,523; Cumulative: $355,183,000

2. Bad Boys: Ride or Die (Sony) Week 3; Last weekend #2

$18,775,000 (-44%) in 3,781 (-104) theaters; PTA: $4,966; Cumulative: $146,911,000

3. The Bikeriders (Focus) NEW – Cinemascore: B; Metacritic: 71; Est. budget: $35 million

$10,000,000 in 2,642 theaters; PTA: $3,785; Cumulative: $10,000,000

4. (tie) Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (Disney) Week 7; Last weekend #3

$3,600,000 (-35%) in 2,410 (-190) theaters; PTA: $1,494; Cumulative: $164,396,000

4. (tie) The Garfield Movie (Sony) Week 5; Last weekend #4

$3,600,000 (-24%) in 3,013 (-398) theaters; PTA: $1,195; Cumulative: $85,142,000

6. IF (Paramount) Week 6; Last weekend #6

$2,775,000 (-23%) in 2,504 (-502) theaters; PTA: $1,108; Cumulative: $106,613,000

7. The Exorcism (Vertical) NEW – Cinemascore: D; Metacritic: 47

$2,439,000 in 2,240 theaters; PTA: $1,089; Cumulative: $2,439,000

8. Thelma (Magnolia) NEW – Metacritic: 79

$2,200,000 in 1,290 theaters; PTA: $1,715; Cumulative: $2,200,000

9. The Watchers (WB) Week 3; Last weekend #5

$1,940,000 (-45%) in 2,423 (-928) theaters; PTA: $801; Cumulative: $17,748,000

10. GHOST: Rite Here Rite Now (Trafalagar) NEW – Metacritic:; Festivals include:

$1,521,000 in 751 theaters; PTA: $2,013; Cumulative: $2,648,000 (4 day)

Other specialized/independent titles

Films (limited, expansions of limited) are listed by week in release, starting with those opened this week; after the first three weeks, only films with grosses over $5,000 are listed. Metacritic scores and initial film festivals recorded when available.

Kinds of Kindness (Searchlight) NEW – Metacritic: 71; Festivals include: Cannes 2024

$350,000 in 5 theaters; PTA: $70,000

Janet Planet (A24) NEW – Metacritic: 87; Festivals include: Telluride, New York 2023, Berlin 2024

$49,684 in 2 theaters; PTA: $28,842

Green Border (Kino Lorber) NEW – Metacritic: 84; Festivals include: Venice, Toronto, New York 2024

$7,005 in 1 theater; PTA: $7,005

Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person (Drafthouse) NEW – Metacritic: 72; Festivals include: Venice, Toronto

$10,337 in 3 theaters; PTA: $3,445; Cumulative: $15,092

Ghostlight (IFC) Week 2

$247,000 in 502 (+499) theaters; PTA: $492; Cumulative: $295,353

Treasure (Bleecker Street) Week 2

$46,051 in 308 (-342) theaters; PTA: $390; Cumulative: $2,616,000

Firebrand (Roadside Attractions) Week 2

$64,325 in 202 (-240) theaters; PTA: $318; Cumulative: $456,044

Fresh Kills (Quiver) Week 2

$7,578 in 11 (-23) theaters; PTA: $7,578; Cumulative: $64,330

Tuesday (A24) Week 3

$71,364 in 338 (-316) theaters; Cumulative: $637,590

Run Lola Run (Sony Pictures Classics) REISSUE Week 3

$20,734 in 26 (-28) theaters; Cumulative: $349,063

Robot Dreams (Neon) Week 4

$126,053 in 84 (+45) theaters; Cumulative: $439,888

In a Violent Nature (IFC) Week 4 203

$19,085 in 53 (-150) theaters; Cumulative: $4,212,000

Babes (Neon) Week 6

$53,850 in 50 (-48) theaters; Cumulative: $3,655,000

I Saw the TV Glow (A24) Week 8; also on PVOD

$90,160 in 110 (-45) theaters; Cumulative: $4,840,000

Civil War (A24) Week 11; also on PVOD

$17,230 in 28 (-7) theaters; Cumulative: $68,739,000

Wicked Little Letters (Sony Pictures Classics) Week 12; also on PVOD

$6,300 in 15 (+4) theaters; Cumulative: $4,977,000

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