There might need to be another new emotion entering Riley’s head, whichever one controls the money. Greed? Ambition? Desire? Inside Out 2 is projected to be this year’s biggest box office opening, surpassing Dune Part 2. The Pixar movie is estimated to earn $140-150 million this weekend, making it one of the top animation openings behind Super Mario Bros. and The Incredibles 2. Disney’s probably feeling another emotion — relief — since there was a ton of pressure to perform after lower-than-expected turnouts for earlier summer premieres. While this financial success might have animation fans worried,— Pete Docter implied that Pixar would be focusing more on sequels rather than original stories — he later clarified that new ideas were still on the way. He told EW, “One thing that I think was maybe slightly misinterpreted was the idea that we have to deliver more of what people know and maybe lean away from the personal. All of that’s true to some degree, but I think what we’re always trying to do is find what are the universal things that everybody believes, both in terms of concepts and in terms of life experience.”
The sequel is also the most recent film to break $100 million during opening weekend— the last movie to do that was Barbie. As for the rest of this weekend’s movies, they might have Envy working overtime.
