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 2022 film, "Avatar 2," has grossed over $2 billion, the company's Pixar studio hasn't seen a film reach this benchmark since 2019's "Toy Story 4."

After the outbreak of the epidemic, Walt Disney Animation and Pixar are working hard to regain their box office position. Part of the reason for this difficulty is that Disney chose to release a few animated features directly on the streaming service Disney+ during theater closures and even when theaters 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 attracted a teenage audience, with 14% of viewers aged 13 to 17. In recent years, this younger generation has been largely absent from the market.

As the future of moviegoers, this group is particularly important to the film industry. Getting them back to the big screen has become the top priority of movie companies and theater operators.

Robbins said,"A sensational performance is what theater owners need." Due to delays in release caused by last year's labor strike, they lacked event-level releases when the summer began in May. It is usually not until the middle of June that such high box office results can be seen, but with the continued health of "Jedi: Life and Death," it is likely to signal the kind of great success the industry hopes to achieve with several high-potential films that start in the second half of this year. "