"Inside Out 2" Overtakes "The Lion King" at Global Box Office

Disney/Pixar’s "Inside Out 2" has now grossed $1.666B+ globally, overtaking 2019’s "The Lion King" total haul of $1.6569 billion.

It debuted in US theaters on June 14, 2024, and has since made more than $1.666 billion globally.

As of Sunday, September 1, "Inside Out 2" has accumulated roughly $1.666.2 billion. The movie is now in ninth place on the list of highest-grossing films of all time. 

"Avatar" (2009) still holds the top spot with $2.923 billion, "Avengers: Endgame" is in second place with $2.797 billion, and "Avatar: The Way of Water" is in third place with $2.320 billion. 

Other movies that come before "Inside Out 2" on the list are "Titanic", "Star Wars: The Force Awakens", "Avengers: Infinity War", "Spider-Man: No Way Home", and "Jurassic World".

"Inside Out 2" impressive box office returns come against a budget of $200 million, which means it was also cheaper to produce for Disney than their remake of "The Lion King". The remake of the animated classic had a budget of $250–260 million.

The original "Inside Out" film came out in 2015 and made $858.8 million at the global box office. This was against a $175 million budget. 

The improvement in the sequel’s box office returns compared to that of the first film underscores how successful Disney’s overall plans for sequels, spin-offs, and remakes have been.

Summer 2024 has been a particularly great season for Disney and its brands. The studio released "Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes" (through 20th Century Studios), "Young Woman and the Sea" (Walt Disney Studios), "Deadpool & Wolverine" (Marvel Studios), "Alien: Romulus" (20th Century Studios), "Kinds of Kindness" (Searchlight Pictures), and "The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat" (Searchlight) in theaters. 

Standing out among those releases, "Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes" made close to $400 million worldwide. "Deadpool & Wolverine" and "Alien: Romulus "are still in theaters like "Inside Out 2", and have respectively made $1.258 billion and $283.5 billion as of last weekend.