Inside Out 2is 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 2is the highest-grossing animated movie ever made. It surpassed the 2019 remake ofThe Lion King, which has always been controversial for holding the record since it’s a photorealistic “live-action” reimagining of the animated classic. Now thatInside Out 2has taken its throne, the highest-grossing animated movie is indisputably an animated movie.
The box office success ofInside Out 2is a great example of a multigenerational hit. Whereas something likeDespicable Me 4will only appeal to younger viewers and something likeDune: Part Twowill only appeal to older viewers,Inside Out 2appeals 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 originalInside Outare 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 2has topped hit movies likeDune: Part Two,Despicable Me 4, andDeadpool & Wolverineto 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 sinceFrozenbecame the highest-grossing movie of 2013.Frozenbeat out such massive hits asFast & Furious 6,Despicable Me 2,The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, andThe Hunger Games: Catching Firein order to take the top spot at the 2013 box office.
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.
Frozennarrowly beat out the Marvel blockbusterIron Man 3, which was riding the wave ofThe 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 successproved that animation on the big screen was still going strong, but the genre wouldn’t top the box office again until this year.
In 1991, Beauty And The Beast Broke The Streak After 14 Years
Elsa and Anna in Frozen
The 11-year gap betweenFrozenandInside Out 2becoming 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(whenStar Warsbecame 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 ofBeauty 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 2in 2024,Frozenin 2013,Toy Story 3in 2010,Shrek 2in 2004,Toy Storyin 1995,The Lion Kingin 1994,Aladdinin 1992, and, of course,Beauty and the Beastin 1991. BeforeFrozenandInside Out 2,the longest gap between these record-breaking animated movies was the nine years betweenToy StoryandShrek 2. The gap betweenFrozenandInside Out 2is 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 ofBarbiein 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 backStar Warsfor a sequel trilogy (and then promptly turned blockbuster cinema’s most valuable property into a franchise that regularly produces flops).
Inside Out 2’s 10 Best Moments With The New Emotions
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 wasTransformers: Age of Extinction. In 2015, it wasStar Wars: The Force Awakens. In 2016, it wasCaptain America: Civil War. In 2017, it wasStar Wars: The Last Jedi. In 2018, it wasAvengers: Infinity War. In 2019, it wasAvengers: Endgame. In 2020, when movie theaters were shut down for most of the year, it was the Japanese action fantasy epicDemon Slayer: Mugen Train. In 2021, it wasSpider-Man: No Way Home. In 2022, it wasAvatar: The Way of Water. And in 2023, it wasBarbie.
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. Moviecame close to topping the box office in 2023, butthe Barbenheimer phenomenon pushedBarbieover the edge. Animation has been able to make a comeback in 2024 becauseaudiences 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 andStar Warshas cost them a lot of their audience draw, andacclaimed animated blockbusters likeInside Out 2were 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 2will probably do big business,The Bad Guys 2andThe Smurfs Moviecould make some money if they’re well-received, Pixar’sEliomight get a boost fromInside Out 2’s success, andThe SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePantsis SpongeBob’s long-awaited return to the big screen. But live-action blockbusters likeSuperman,Jurassic World Rebirth, andAvatar: Fire and Ashare bound to outgross them. 2026, on the other hand, could see another animated movie top the year-end box office.
Shrek 5andToy Story 5are 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 5is set to be released on June 06, 2025, andShrek 5is set to be released on July 09, 2025. 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 toThe Super Mario Bros. Movieis coming out on Jul 23, 2025. There’s a good chance 2026 will repeatInside Out 2’s success.
Inside Out 2
Cast
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.
