“Inside Out 2” has surpassed $1 billion at the international box office, one of 12 releases — and the only animated film — to ever cross that coveted milestone.
Though 55 films have grossed $1 billion globally (which is comprised of domestic and international ticket sales), just a dozen have managed to hit that benchmark from overseas markets alone — and 11 of those movies were live-action. While Disney’s 2019 “The Lion King” earned a staggering $1.1 billion internationally, the studio has categorized the remake as live-action rather than computer generated, so “Inside Out 2” is technically the first animated release to join the coveted club.
Getting to $1 billion means “Inside Out 2” has resonated pretty much everywhere, but the top foreign markets are Mexico ($102.2 million), Brazil ($80 million), the U.K. ($72.7 million), France ($62.6 million) and Korea ($60.8 million).
Disney’s Pixar sequel is already the highest-grossing movie of the year with $1.649 billion globally, including $1.002 billion overseas and $646.3 million domestically. Weeks ago, “Inside Out 2” overtook “Frozen II” as the highest-grossing animated film in history.
Disney has enjoyed a strong summer with two billion-dollar releases, the other being the Marvel superhero sequel “Deadpool & Wolverine.” To give a sense of the box office prowess of “Inside Out 2” among international audiences, “Deadpool & Wolverine” has generated a little more than half of that — a mighty $634.1 million — among the same set of markets. Of course, “Deadpool & Wolverine” is rated R, which theoretically limits its audience to the 18 and over crowd.
With $1.21 billion worldwide to date, “Deadpool & Wolverine” now stands as the eighth-biggest installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, having passed “Captain America: Civil War” ($1.155 billion). It’s expected to soon overtake “Iron Man 3” ($1.215 billion) to claim the No. 7 spot.
Another Disney tentpole, “Alien: Romulus,” added $41.6 million internationally and $57.8 million globally over the weekend, boosting its worldwide haul to $225.4 million. The newest chapter in the decades-old sci-fi horror saga has been one of the rare post-pandemic Hollywood movies to resonate in China, where grosses have reached $73.3 million so far.
Elsewhere at the international box office, two new releases — “Blink Twice” and “The Crow” reboot — failed to make a dent. Zoe Kravitz’s psychological thriller “Blink Twice” bombed with $6.7 million from 73 overseas territories. It also underwhelmed domestically with $7.2 million, bringing its global start to $14 million.
“Blink Twice,” which marks Kravitz’s directorial debut, reportedly carries a $20 million budget before reshoots. So, it’s somewhat decently positioned in its theatrical run. Channing Tatum, Kravitz’s fiancée, stars in the film as a tech billionaire who invites a cocktail waitress (Naomi Ackie) to his private island for a luxurious party where things begin to take a sinister turn. Amazon MGM is distributing the movie in the U.S. while Warner Bros. is handling the theatrical rollout in the rest of the world.
Lionsgate’s “The Crow” fared even worse with $3.8 million from 44 international markets and a dismal $4.6 million domestically, totalling $8.5 million globally in its debut. Bill Skarsgård anchors the movie, a grizzly reimagining of the graphic novel-turned-1994 film, as a murdered musician who is resurrected to avenge the deaths of himself and his fiancée. It cost $50 million to produce.
