Proactive Investors - Shares in Walt Disney Co (NYSE:DIS, ETR:WDP) are set to open more than 1% higher after its latest Pixar film Inside Out 2 broke several box office records over the weekend.
Global showings of the family comedy generated an estimated £232.6 million (US$295 million) over the first three days of its release.
Disney has said the film’s opening is the best global weekend for an animated film ever.
In North America alone sales generated US$155 million, overtaking Dune: Part Two for the best opening weekend in 2024.
It represents the second-best opening weekend for Pixar in the region since 2018, when it released The Incredibles 2.
Inside Out 2’s success provides a well-needed boost for the cinema sector, which has been subdued in recent years barring the odd hit blockbuster.
Cinema tickets sold in North America is down by almost a quarter compared to the same period in 2023, data from market researcher Comscore found.
AMC Entertainment Holdings (NYSE:AMC), the US theatre operator and owner of Odeon, shares lifted 1.5% in premarket trading, while in the UK, luxury cinema Everyman Media Group PLC (AIM:EMAN) held flat.
Both stocks are down close to 20% in the year to date.
Inside Out 2's debut marks an improvement from the first instalment in the series, which back in 2015 took home US$90 million in its debut weekend before grossing US$858 million worldwide.
Looking forward to the rest of the year, some of the most hyped upcoming releases include A Quiet Place: Day One, Deadpool and Wolverine, Yorgos Lanthimos’ Kind of Kindness and Zoe Kravitz’s Blink Twice.