Disney/Pixar’s “Inside Out 2” continued to show spectacular holds at the box office, staying en route to its third No. 1 weekend with a $56 million total as it staves off a franchise record $53 million opening from Paramount’s “A Quiet Place: Day One.”
By the end of this weekend, “Inside Out 2” will have passed $450 million in domestic grosses and will cross $1 billion worldwide sometime during the extended July 4 weekend.
While the sequel may start seeing steeper drops due to competition from “Despicable Me 4,” it is on pace to pass $600 million in domestic grosses and set a new animation record before inflation adjustment when it passes the $608 million of fellow 2018 Pixar film “Incredibles 2.”
While “A Quiet Place: Day One” will settle for second, it’s still a box office win for Paramount’s horror prequel as its $53 million launch topped the two previous “Quiet Place” films despite not having any of its main characters. The first “Quiet Place” opened to $50 million before inflation adjustment in 2018, while its 2021 sequel opened to $47 million over three days on Memorial Day weekend.
Carrying a $67 million production budget due to the larger scope of the film and its New York setting, “Day One” is considerably pricier than the $17 million budget of the first “Quiet Place.” But it will still turn a theatrical profit as audiences and critics alike are giving it positive reception with Rotten Tomatoes scores of 84% critics and 73% audience to go with a B+ on CinemaScore, the same grade as the first “Quiet Place.”
In third is Warner Bros.’ “Horizon: Am American Saga — Chapter 1” with an anemic $11.5 million opening from 3,708 screens. While meeting pre-release projections, it carries a $100 million budget financed through foreign sales, investors and writer-director Kevin Costner’s own money, with Warner Bros. only handling distribution.
With “Chapter 2” of his planned four-film saga set to come out in August, Costner is banking on his fans — particularly older, male moviegoers — coming out over several weeks to see the film. But audience reception seems to be as mixed as critical reception with a B- on CinemaScore to go with Rotten Tomatoes scores of 39% critics and 69% audience. Fourth of July weekend will reveal if there’s any chance of “Horizon” legging out over the next month.
