Zhongtong Finance learned that Inside Out 2, produced by Disney's Pixar Animation Studio, grossed $1 billion worldwide, becoming the first film to exceed $1 billion in box office since Barbie in 2023. Disney said this highly anticipated sequel achieved this result in just 19 days, making it the fastest in animated films. Media cited data from EntTelligence, which indicated that family audiences drove this growth, accounting for more than 70% of the film's domestic premiere box office in the United States.

The success of the film in theaters is a major achievement, as movie companies have been working hard to attract customers since the pandemic. Prior to Inside Out 2, no Disney Animation Studio or Pixar animated film had grossed more than $480 million since 2019.

Cinema attendance rates are still significantly lower than pre-pandemic levels. Data from Placer.ai shows that in April of this year, AMC Cinemas had nearly 65% fewer visitors than in April 2019. Regal Cinemas saw an even greater decline, with moviegoers in April down two-thirds from the same period five years ago.

Comscore senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian said, "As a global phenomenon, it has attracted viewers far beyond families and children, and its message resonates in all cultures and languages. Inside Out 2 is a rare box office sprinter and marathon runner. It is the perfect candidate to enter the billion-dollar club."

Although Disney's 'Avatar 2' exceeded $2 billion at the box office in 2022, since 'Toy Story 4' in 2019, the company's Pixar studio has not seen a movie reach this benchmark.

After the outbreak of the pandemic, Walt Disney Animation and Pixar were working hard to regain their box office status. Part of the difficulty arises from Disney's choice to release a few animated features directly on the streaming service Disney+ during the theater closures, even when the theater reopened.

In recent years, Disney has not helped drive theater attendance, even after theaters resumed screening movies after the pandemic. Disney still chose to quickly release movies on its Disney+ streaming service. A fitting example is Encanto, which was added to Disney+ just one month after its release in November 2021. Recently, Disney chose to bring its feature film to Disney+ three months after its theatrical release.

Shawn Robbins, founder and owner of Box Office Theory, said, "The performance of Inside Out 2 is the culmination of many things. It is a meaningful story that people of all ages and backgrounds can feel, love for the original movie, the traditional brand appeal of Disney and Pixar, the suppressed demand for family movies, the perfect two-hour screening time for consumers, school breaks, and the unbearable heat wave, which forced many people indoors for air-conditioned entertainment. These are all factors that contributed to this box office storm."

'Incredibles 2' also attracts teenage viewers, with 14% of the audience from teenagers aged 13 to 17. In recent years, this young generation has been largely absent from the market.

As the future of movie-going, this group is especially important to the movie industry. Getting them back to the big screen has become a top priority for movie studios and theater operators.

Robbins said, 'A blockbuster is just what theater owners need.' Due to last year's labor dispute delays in publishing, they lacked event-level releases when they started in the summer of May. Typically, such high box office performance is only seen until mid-June, but with 'Fast & Furious: Hard and Joint,' it is likely to indicate the industry's hope for the huge success of several high-potential films that began in the second half of this year.'