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Inside Out 2 is the highest-grossing movie of 2024 by a pretty wide margin, and it’s the first animated film to top the box office of an entire year in a long time. Not only is it the highest-grossing film of the year; Inside Out 2 is the highest-grossing animated movie ever made. It surpassed the 2019 remake of The Lion King, which has always been controversial for holding the record since it’s a photorealistic “live-action” reimagining of the animated classic. Now that Inside Out 2 has taken its throne, the highest-grossing animated movie is indisputably an animated movie.
The box office success of Inside Out 2 is a great example of a multigenerational hit. Whereas something like Despicable Me 4 will only appeal to younger viewers and something like Dune: Part Two will only appeal to older viewers, Inside Out 2 appeals to viewers of all ages. The colorful animation and sight gags will keep little kids entertained, but the little kids who grew up with the original Inside Out are now teenagers and young adults with their own disposable income — and the sequel’s poignant exploration of anxiety speaks to older viewers suffering from anxiety.
Inside Out 2 Is The First Animated Movie To Be The Year's Highest Grossing Film In 11 Years
The Last Animated Movie To Top The Box Office Was Frozen In 2013
Inside Out 2 has topped hit movies like Dune: Part Two, Despicable Me 4, and Deadpool & Wolverine to become the highest-grossing film of 2024. It’s the first time that an animated movie has been crowned the highest-grossing film of its year since Frozen became the highest-grossing movie of 2013. Frozen beat out such massive hits as Fast & Furious 6, Despicable Me 2, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, and The Hunger Games: Catching Fire in order to take the top spot at the 2013 box office.
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Inside Out 2's Box Office Numbers: Total, Worldwide, Domestic, Opening & Records
Pixar's Inside Out 2 has become 2024's highest-grossing movie. Suffice it to say, it made so much money while also breaking few box office records.
Frozen narrowly beat out the Marvel blockbuster Iron Man 3, which was riding the wave of The Avengers’ success a year earlier, by just a few tens of millions of dollars. Animation is one of the few film genres that’s fatigue-proof, because there will always be parents who want to keep their kids entertained for a couple of hours, and a good animated movie will always be a viable option for that. Frozen’s box office success proved that animation on the big screen was still going strong, but the genre wouldn’t top the box office again until this year.
The Gap Betwen Inside Out 2 & Frozen Was The Second Longest In Known Box Office History
In 1991, Beauty And The Beast Broke The Streak After 14 Years
The 11-year gap between Frozen and Inside Out 2 becoming the highest-grossing movies of their respective years is the second longest gap between animated winners. It’s the longest gap between animated movies since worldwide box office gross started to be calculated in 1977 (when Star Wars became far and away the biggest movie ever made). After the worldwide box office numbers started getting recorded, it wasn’t until 1991 that an animated film topped the year-end list with the blockbuster success of Beauty and the Beast, so that’s a whopping 14 years.
An animated film has been the highest-grossing movie of the year a grand total of eight times: Inside Out 2 in 2024, Frozen in 2013, Toy Story 3 in 2010, Shrek 2 in 2004, Toy Story in 1995, The Lion King in 1994, Aladdin in 1992, and, of course, Beauty and the Beast in 1991.
An animated film has been the highest-grossing movie of the year a grand total of eight times: Inside Out 2 in 2024, Frozen in 2013, Toy Story 3 in 2010, Shrek 2 in 2004, Toy Story in 1995, The Lion King in 1994, Aladdin in 1992, and, of course, Beauty and the Beast in 1991. Before Frozen and Inside Out 2, the longest gap between these record-breaking animated movies was the nine years between Toy Story and Shrek 2. The gap between Frozen and Inside Out 2 is two years longer than that.
Why No Animated Movies Topped The Box Office Between Frozen & Inside Out 2
Superhero Movies & Other Live-Action Franchises Dominated The Box Office In That Time
The reason why no animated movies topped the box office from 2014 to 2023 is because that’s the decade that superhero films and other live-action blockbuster franchises dominated the box office. With the exception of Barbie in 2023, every top-grossing movie in that decade was an action-packed sequel in a big blockbuster franchise. It was during this decade that the Marvel Cinematic Universe enjoyed its heyday and Disney brought back Star Wars for a sequel trilogy (and then promptly turned blockbuster cinema’s most valuable property into a franchise that regularly produces flops).
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From Envy to Anxiety to Nostalgia, Inside Out 2 introduced a bunch of new emotions in Riley's mind — and they each had their share of great moments.
In 2014, the highest-grossing movie of the year was Transformers: Age of Extinction. In 2015, it was Star Wars: The Force Awakens. In 2016, it was Captain America: Civil War. In 2017, it was Star Wars: The Last Jedi. In 2018, it was Avengers: Infinity War. In 2019, it was Avengers: Endgame. In 2020, when movie theaters were shut down for most of the year, it was the Japanese action fantasy epic Demon Slayer: Mugen Train. In 2021, it was Spider-Man: No Way Home. In 2022, it was Avatar: The Way of Water. And in 2023, it was Barbie.
The hit-and-miss recent output of Marvel and Star Wars has cost them a lot of their audience draw, and acclaimed animated blockbusters like Inside Out 2 were bound to fill the void.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie came close to topping the box office in 2023, but the Barbenheimer phenomenon pushed Barbie over the edge. Animation has been able to make a comeback in 2024 because audiences are starting to feel the fatigue of a constant barrage of big-budget sci-fi action movies. The hit-and-miss recent output of Marvel and Star Wars has cost them a lot of their audience draw, and acclaimed animated blockbusters like Inside Out 2 were bound to fill the void.
2026 Has A Great Chance To Have An Animated Movie Be The Highest Grossing Film Of The Year
2026 Will Have Shrek 5 & Toy Story 5
2025 is unlikely to have an animated movie as the highest-grossing film of the year. Zootopia 2 will probably do big business, The Bad Guys 2 and The Smurfs Movie could make some money if they’re well-received, Pixar’s Elio might get a boost from Inside Out 2’s success, and The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants is SpongeBob’s long-awaited return to the big screen. But live-action blockbusters like Superman, Jurassic World Rebirth, and Avatar: Fire and Ash are bound to outgross them. 2026, on the other hand, could see another animated movie top the year-end box office.
Shrek 5 and Toy Story 5 are releasing less than two weeks apart in the summer of 2026.
2026 will bring the return of two of the most popular animated franchises of all time: Toy Story 5 is set to be released on June 19, 2026, and Shrek 5 is set to be released on July 1, 2026. It’s risky to release them so close together — one of them might move its release date closer to the time — but both of these movies have a strong chance of cracking $1 billion. Plus, the sequel to The Super Mario Bros. Movie is coming out on April 3, 2026. There’s a good chance 2026 will repeat Inside Out 2’s success.
Inside Out 2 is the sequel to the 2015 original film, which starred a young girl named Riley with a head full of emotions. - literally. With Amy Pohler as Joy, Bill Hader as fear, Mindy Kaling as Disgust, Phyllis Smith as Sadness, and Lewis Black as Anger, the all-star cast brought to life the emotions that adolescents face as they grow, change, and adapt to new situations. This sequel, currently in development, will bring Amy Pohler back as Joy, with Riley, now a teenager.
Runtime 96 Minutes
Director Kelsey Mann
Writers Meg LeFauve , Dave Holstein , Kelsey Mann
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English (US) ·