Reverting to old Disney+ streaming expectations led to Pixar's Inside Out 2 becoming the biggest box office hit of 2024.
Heading into the new year, Pixar was no longer a sure thing for box office success, as no Pixar film had crossed $500 million globally since 2019's Toy Story 4. One of the main reasons was that projects like Soul, Turning Red, and Luca were all straight-to-streaming releases in the United States.
Then, when it seemed set up for a triumphant return to wide-release cinemas, Chris Evans' Lightyear fell flat on its face, grossing $226.4 million worldwide.
While Elemental wasn't a true flop, it also didn't restore Pixar's theatrical dominance, leading Disney to push all its chips in on Inside Out 2.
Inside Out 2's Disney+ Release Plan Pays Off
Ahead of its theatrical release on June 16, it was reported that Inside Out 2's theatrical run will last roughly 100 days.
This also led to the belief that Inside Out 2 would set a new record for the longest theatrical premiere-to-streaming gap for a Pixar movie on Disney+, surpassing Elemental's 89-day window.
It will also come close to breaking the record for any Disney-released animated movie, which is currently held by 2023's Wish with a 133-day gap.
Inside Out 2's Disney+ release strategy has been one of the key contributors to its recording-breaking success. Now sitting at over $1.6 billion worldwide and ranking as the highest-grossing Pixar movie ever, it's hard to find anything the studio didn't do well.
After resetting expectations with families during and following the COVID-19 pandemic, the outward emphasis on keeping Inside Out 2 in theaters brought back old and new fans in droves.
This was also another example of how important sequels are to much of Pixar's box office success. While 2015's Inside Out was a massive hit for an original film, its global box office total ($858.3 million) will be doubled by its successor.
In fact, the top five highest-grossing Pixar movies ever are all sequels. Finding Nemo, Inside Out, and Coco are the most successful original films by the studio.
Luckily for Disney and Pixar, their future slate features sequels primed for impressive box-office success, including Incredibles 3 and Toy Story 5.
Incredibly for Inside Out 2, its theatrical exclusivity was only 67 days following its digital release on August 20. This shows the new norm of blockbuster films earning the vast majority of their earnings during the first two months.
Even though many are still heading out to see Inside Out 2 on limited screens, families will soon be looking for the hit film on Disney+, which kids will likely repeatedly rewatch.
When Will Inside Out 2 Release on Disney+?
Helping successfully boost the box office, Inside Out 2's 100 days in theaters before arriving on Disney+ gives a window into when the film will begin streaming.
If the 100-day timeline holds, the movie could start streaming around September 22, though a potential push to late October is possible if Disney and Pixar opt to keep it in theaters longer.
It's most likely that Inside Out 2 will have a longer theater-to-streaming window than Wish, which was notably 133 days.
If Inside Out 2 ultimately comes to Disney+ after 140 days or more, that will mean Pixar's biggest box office hit of all time will begin streaming in November.
Notably, a short preview released on Disney+ in late July still listed Inside Out 2 as playing exclusively in theaters, suggesting that the studios might aim to maintain its big-screen exclusivity for as long as possible, keeping fans waiting for its streaming release.
Inside Out 2 is still playing in theaters, and it is available for digital viewing as well.
Check out other Inside Out 2 stories from The Direct below:
Inside Out 2 Includes 5 Deleted Scenes & 2 Bonus Features In Digital, Blu-ray and DVD Releases
Inside Out 3: Will It Release? Director Reveals Potential Ideas
Inside Out 2: Pixar Reveals 3 More Cut Emotions (Photos)
Inside Out 2 Characters: All New & Returning Emotions, Humans & Other Players (Photos)
