As of Wednesday, Inside Out 2 is now the highest-grossing Pixar movie of all time. The sequel has dominated the box office ever since its debut in June, quickly overtaking Kung Fu Panda 4, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, and Dune: Part Two to become to biggest movie of 2024. In fact, there’s a very real chance that it could end up overtaking Frozen 2 as the highest-grossing animated movie ever. Pixar just needs another $200 million in ticket sales.
With that in mind, we thought now would be the perfect time to take a look at the updated list of Pixar’s 10 highest-grossing movies. I was honestly most surprised to see that Incredibles 2 had previously held the top spot. It was widely regarded as a step down from the original, but it goes to show just how successful Pixar sequels can be.
10 highest-grossing Pixar movies worldwide
- Inside Out 2 – $1.251 billion (and counting)
- Incredibles 2 – $1.242 billion
- Toy Story 4 – $1.073 billion
- Toy Story 3 – $1.066 billion
- Finding Dory – $1.028 billion
- Finding Nemo – $871 million
- Inside Out – $857 million
- Coco – $814 million
- Monsters University – $743 million
- Up – $735 million
Looking at these numbers, I’m even more confused about why Disney didn’t just hold on to the movies Pixar released during the pandemic rather than dump them on Disney+.
No, I don’t think Turning Red or Soul would have made $1 billion, but it’s clear that the appetite for thoughtful, emotional, animated films that speak to parents and adults alike is as strong as it has ever been. On the other hand, you probably noticed that Pixar sequels make up more than half of the list. The entire top 5 is actually just sequels.
Despite the record-breaking box office success of Inside Out 2, I’m slightly concerned about the future of Pixar. Disney wants Pixar movies to make money, and for over a decade, the sequels have been the real money-makers. Pixar’s next movie, Elio, is a totally original story, and I’m really hoping it makes an impact when it arrives in 2025.
If Elio ends up more like Lightyear, which reportedly lost the studio upwards of $100 million, Toy Story 5 might be the start of an endless run of sequels and spinoffs.
