AMC Entertainment (NYSE:AMC) has received some buzz on the markets lately due to the return of YouTuber Roaring Kitty. However, it has continued to play second fiddle to GameStop with regards to its performance. Its shares have jumped 13% month-over-month as of close on Friday, June 14, 2024. Meanwhile, the movie theater operator has other reasons to celebrate after the debut of a family film that far surpassed expectations over the mid-June weekend.
Inside Out 2 is the sequel to Inside Out, which debuted all the way back in 2015. The first film met with strong success at the domestic box office, raking in over $350 million. Meanwhile, it generated more than $500 million at the international box office, making out with over $850 million worldwide. That was against a budget of $175 million. Inside Out debuted with $90.4 million in its opening weekend.
The sequel blew away expectations over the June 14-16 weekend. Indeed, Inside Out 2 walked away with a stunning $155 million at the North American box office. It delivered a worldwide gross of $295 million, catapulting the sequel to fifth in 2024 for worldwide gross. That puts Inside Out 2 on pace to become the highest grossing film this year by a wide margin.
Bad Boys: Ride or Die, which enjoyed a solid domestic debut of $56.5 million in the previous weekend, generated $33 million in the shadow of Inside Out 2.
The incredible performance of Inside Out 2 should boost optimism for movie theater operators ahead of the summer blockbuster season.
