Credit: Disney/PixarTen years ago, Disney and Pixar released a movie that took us inside the mind of a young girl and into the heart of her emotions. Inside Out tells the story of Riley, a young girl who moves from Minnesota to San Francisco, and she struggles to find her place and make new friends.
But instead of focusing on Riley’s life on the outside, Inside Out focused on the emotions in Riley’s head — Joy, Anger, Fear, Sadness, and Disgust — and how they work together to help her adapt to her new life.
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Inside Out was a huge success, but it took nine years before a sequel film was released. Sequels can always be a risk, and they might not perform as well as the original movie, but that was far from the case with Inside Out 2.
Inside Out 2 was released in theaters nationwide on June 14, 2024, and it immediately took the world by storm. Just days after its release, it started breaking records and quickly climbed the charts for highest-grossing films.
When all was said and done, Inside Out 2 was the highest-grossing movie of 2024, raking in just under $1.7 billion. Along with that top honor, it also became the most successful animated film of all time!
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While breaking such a record is quite a feat, in less than one year, Inside Out 2 has been dethroned!
According to a report from Forbes, the Chinese computer-animated film Ne Zha 2 has taken the crown for top-earning animated film.
In just the past few weeks, Disney’s blockbuster was knocked off the top spot by the most unlikely of rivals. Ne Zha 2, the Chinese computer-animated movie is made by publicly-traded Beijing Enlight Media, played in just 945 theaters in North America when it opened in February, compared to 4,440 for Inside Out 2.
In February, Ne Zha 2 overtook Inside Out 2 and has since surged to a total of $1.9 billion at the box office, comfortably making it the highest-grossing movie of the year so far.
Ne Zha 2 is based on Chinese mythology and tells the story of Ne Zha, a demon child raised by humans. Ne Zha is searching for a magical potion to help reanimate his friend, Ao Bing, a dragon prince who was killed in a lightning strike. The film is full of symbolism and stunning graphics, and Chinese audiences cannot get enough of the new story.
While Disney does have animated films coming out this year, the odds that they will see the same success as Inside Out 2 and Ne Zha 2 are unlikely.
Disney and Pixar will be releasing Elio on June 20, 2025. Elio is a story about a young boy, named Elio, who is mistakenly beamed up into space by the Communiverse, an interplanetary council. They believe that Elio is Earth’s representative, and not just a young boy who loves anything to do with aliens and outer space.
Then, on November 26, 2025, Disney will release Zootopia 2, a sequel to the beloved 2016. We don’t know a ton about Zootopia 2, but we do know that Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) and Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman) will be back and better than ever. The two will team up and venture into Marsh Market as they follow the trail of a mysterious reptile.
Ne Zha 2 is currently showing in a few theaters around the country. We do not know if it will be available for streaming in the United States at any point in the future.
Are you shocked to hear that Inside Out 2 has been dethroned as the highest-grossing animated film of all time? Are you looking forward to Elio or Zootopia 2? What is your favorite Disney animated film? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!