Finally: ‘Inside Out 2’ and ‘Bad Boys: Ride or Die’ Take Theaters Off Life Support

At last. A weekend to sincerely cheer.

“Inside Out 2” (Disney) would have been terrific at a $100 million opening weekend, but it soared to an estimated $155 million. Meantime, “Bad Boys: Ride or Die” (Sony), would have been thought successful with a 50 percent drop in its second weekend. Instead, it is off 42 percent with $33 million after an opening weekend of $56.5 million.

More from IndieWire

• Emma Stone Thinks Yorgos Lanthimos Is 'Still Miserable' Despite Success

• Mike Faist Caught Steven Spielberg 'Sweating' on 'West Side Story' Set: 'He Was Stressing Out'

In what was set up to be a do-or-die critical two-weekend period, “Bad Boys: Ride or Die” (Sony) and “Inside Out 2” (Disney) exceeded expectations — and more importantly, at the same time. It’s hard to overestimate how much dread there was ahead of these two releases. Had either or both fell short of reasonable expectations, as did to many recent high-end releases before them, the despair would have reached new lows.

Instead, not only did both franchise titles come through, they also exceeded best hopes. That happened last nearly a year ago, when the same-day “Barbie”/”Oppenheimer” release unrealistically raised hopes that theaters were in full recovery mode.

Instead, this weekend’s strong gross of $214 million, the first over $200 million since last July, is 50 percent better than any since the last weekend in July. That’s how much grosses have lagged, certainly in part because of a strike-reduced release schedule but also because of too much disinterest in what played.

That affects future decision making for both studios and theaters. It also raises hope that the worst is over, and given the right choices, audiences will return.

What it does not mean is recovery. Short term, 2024 is still going to be bad. It will be lucky to reach $8 billion, down from last year’s unexciting $9 billion. But that’s better than the $7 billion that seemed possible at the end of May. (Year to date is still off 24 percent, though up 28 percent from the same weekend in 2023.)

More importantly, if combined with a series of other hits in future weeks (“A Quiet Place: Day One,” “Despicable Me 4,” “Twisters,” and “Deadpool & Wolverine” leading the way), it will replenish theater coffers and encourage more production to fill screens next year and beyond. That wasn’t guaranteed two weeks ago.

The weekend was helped by Father’s Day; also benefitting was #3 title “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” (Disney), which was off only four percent. “The Garfield Movie” (Sony) and “IF” (Paramount, now over $100 million) dropped 50 percent or more with competition for the family audience. The rest of the field had normal decreases.

“Inside Out 2” is the first film since “Barbie” to debut over $100 million. By this point last year, we’d seen four openings at that level. “Inside Out 2” stands as the #2 biggest animated opening, though it would be lower in adjusted grosses. “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” last year had a $146 million initial weekend, but opened on a Wednesday with $205 million through its first Sunday.

With many reduced kids prices, it is likely that “Inside Out 2” opened with more tickets sold than “Barbie” ($162 million). That’s significant: More bodies in a theater, particularly younger ones, means more concession sales.

The specialized side of the business continues to lag. Sundance-premiered “Ghostlight” (IFC) had a decent sampling in three theaters, with Chicago’s Music Box best and an overall per theater average of over $12,000. Multi-hundred theater debuts of “Treasure” (Bleecker Street) and “Firebrand” (Roadside Attractions) failed to attain PTAs of even $500, similar to the second weekend expansion of “Tuesday” (A24).

The Top 10

1. Inside Out 2 (Disney) NEW – Cinemascore: A; Metacritic: 74; Est. budget: $200 million

$155,000,000 in 4,440 theaters; PTA (per theater average): $34,910; Cumulative: $155,000,000

2. Bad Boys: Ride or Die (Sony) Week 2; Last weekend #1

$33,000,000 (-42%) in 3,885 (no change) theaters; PTA: $8,494; Cumulative: $112,240,000

3. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (Disney) Week 6; Last weekend #5

$5,200,000 (-4%) in 2,600 (-555) theaters; PTA: $2,000; Cumulative: $157,804,000

4. The Garfield Movie (Sony) Week 4; Last weekend #2

$5,000,000 (-50%) in 3,411 (-548) theaters; PTA: $1,466; Cumulative: $78,525,000

5. The Watchers (WB) Week 2; Last weekend #4

$3,665,000 (-48%) in 3,351 (no change) theaters; PTA: $1,094; Cumulative: $13,665,000

6. IF (Paramount) Week 5; Last weekend #3

$3,450,000 (-56%) in 3,006 (-576) theaters; PTA: $1,148; Cumulative: $100,901,000

7. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (WB) Week 4; Last weekend #6

$2,425,000 (-42%) in 1,874 (-1,110) theaters; PTA: $1,294; Cumulative: $63,126,000

8. The Fall Guy (Universal) Week 7; Last weekend #7; also on PVOD

$1,500,000 (-42%) in 1,663 (-747) theaters; PTA: $902; Cumulative: $87,900,000

9. The Strangers: Chapter 1 (Lionsgate) Week 5; Last weekend #7; also on PVOD

$760,000 (-58%) in 1,027 (-989) theaters; PTA: $740; Cumulative: $33,896,000

10. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the King (Warner Bros.) FATHOM REISSUE; Last weekend: #8

$632,910 (-74%) in 1,035 (-494) theaters (Saturday only); PTA: $612; Cumulative: (adjusted) est. $504,032,000

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.

Ghostlight (IFC) NEW – Metacritic: 83; Festivals include: Sundance, South by Southwest 2024

$38,300 in 3 theaters; PTA: $12,767

Treasure (Bleecker Street) NEW – Metacritic: 45; Festivals include: Berlin, Tribeca 2024

$243,757 in 650 theaters; PTA: $375

Firebrand (Roadside Attractions) NEW – Metacritic: 56; Festivals include: Cannes 2023, Tribeca 2024

$220,610 in 442 theaters; PTA: $449

Summer Solstice (Cartilage) NEW – Festivals include: Provincetown 2023

$5,000 in 1 theater; PTA: $5,000

Tuesday (A24) Week 2

$292,471 in 654 (+652) theaters; PTA: $447; Cumulative: $324,570

I Used to Be Funny (Utopia) Week 2

$44,000 in 39 (+38) theaters; PTA: $1,135; Cumulative: $87,749

Run Lola Run (Sony Pictures Classics) REISSUE Week 2

$38,871 in 54 (-221) theaters; PTA: $291; Cumulative: $290,154

Robot Dreams (Neon) Week 3

$83,100 in 39 (+32) theaters; Cumulative: $214,273

In a Violent Nature (IFC) Week 3

$96,159 in 203 (-1,063) theaters; Cumulative: $4,119,000

Ezra (Bleecker Street) Week 3

$63,227 in 162 (-983) theaters; Cumulative: $2,525

Babes (Neon) Week 5

$107,700 in 98 (-340) theaters; Cumulative: $3,472,000

I Saw the TV Glow (A24) Week 7; also on PVOD

$164,509 in 155 (-72) theaters; Cumulative: $4,616,000

Evil Does Not Exist (Sideshow/Janus) Week 7

$15,502 in 35 (-41) theaters; Cumulative: $757,834

Civil War (A24) Week 10; also on PVOD

$36,161 in 35 (-40) theaters; Cumulative: $68,690,000

Wicked Little Letters (Sony Pictures Classics) Week 11; also on PVOD

$5,912 in 11 (-6) theaters; Cumulative: $4,964,000

Best of IndieWire

• 'Song of the South': 14 Things to Know About Disney's Most Controversial Movie

• The 55 Best LGBTQ Movies and TV Shows Streaming on Netflix Right Now

• A History of Unsimulated Sex Scenes in 17 Cannes Films, from 'Mektoub' to 'Antichrist' to 'Caligula'

Sign up for Indiewire's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.