The first billion-dollar movie of 2024 could be Disney's 'Inside Out 2'.

• As of Sunday, "Inside Out 2" has earned $724.4 million at the box office worldwide, surpassing all other films in 2024.
• Since Warner Bros.' "Barbie," experts predict that the film will soon surpass $1 billion worldwide and become the first to do so.
• The animated sequel is among the select few films to achieve $100 million in domestic box office sales in just two weekends.

"Inside Out 2" could become the first film since "Barbie" to achieve a global box office revenue of $1 billion.

As of Sunday, the animated feature has grossed $724.4 million worldwide, surpassing the previous record of $711.8 million held by "Dune: Part Two" from Warner Bros. and Legendary Entertainment.

The first film in 2015 generated a global total of $850.5 million, with Japan contributing nearly $33 million, despite "Inside Out 2" not yet being released in the country.

""According to Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore, 'Inside Out 2' is a unique film that appeals to a wide audience and has a universal message. It is both a box office success and a long-term runner, making it an ideal candidate for the billion-dollar club," said Dergarabedian."

Disney's "Avatar: The Way of Water" exceeded $2 billion in revenue, marking the first time Pixar has achieved this feat since "Toy Story 4" in 2019.

During the pandemic, Disney+ debuted several animated features, which hindered both Walt Disney Animation and Pixar's ability to regain a foothold at the box office.

No Disney animated feature from Pixar or Walt Disney Animation had generated more than $480 million at the global box office since 2019 before "Inside Out 2."

Over the weekend, the film made another $100 million domestically, which is a 35% decrease from its opening weekend. Typically, films experience a 50% to 70% drop in ticket sales from their first weekend to their second weekend.

Inside Out 2" joins the ranks of only seven other films to surpass $100 million in their second weekend, including five Disney titles - "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," "Avengers: Endgame," "Avengers: Infinity War," "Black Panther," and "The Avengers" - and "Jurassic World.

From Monday through Thursday, "Inside Out 2" made an additional $100 million from weekday showings.

"Shawn Robbins, founder and owner of Box Office Theory, stated that the success of "Inside Out 2" is due to several factors. These include a relatable story, positive feelings towards the original film, Disney and Pixar's brand appeal, pent-up demand for a family movie, a short runtime, school breaks, and the desire for air-conditioned entertainment during hot weather."

Family audiences made up more than 70% of those who attended the film during its domestic debut, according to EntTelligence data. This was due to the underserved nature of family-friendly movies after the pandemic, as many were either streamed or removed from theaters due to closures or shutdowns.

In 2020, a massive crowd gathered for Universal's "The Super Mario Bros. Movie," which grossed over $1.36 billion worldwide.

The younger generation, which has been largely absent from the market in recent years, was attracted to "Inside Out 2," with 14% of foot traffic coming from those aged 13 to 17.

The industry views this group as crucial to the future of moviegoing, and studios and theater operators are prioritizing their return to the big screen.

"Theater owners were in dire need of a blockbuster run to kick off the summer season in May, as release delays caused by last year's labor strikes left them starved of event-level movies," said Robbins. "It's not until the middle of June that we typically see a box office powerhouse of this magnitude, but with the continued success of 'Bad Boys: Ride or Die,' it may signal the kind of avalanche of success that the industry hopes for from several high-potential releases to begin the second half of the year."

NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast, is the distributor of "Jurassic World" and "The Super Mario Bros. Movie."