Disney/Pixar’s Inside Out Posts Biggest Opening Ever for an Original Movie
Mike Tyrkus
Disney/Pixar’s Inside Out climbed to the top of the historical box office charts last weekend with the biggest opening for an original movie in history, topping the previous No. 1 original movie, Avatar, by more than $13 million, with over $90 million in domestic box office alone.
Directed by Pete Docter (Up and Monsters, Inc.), and featuring the voices of Amy Poehler, Bill Hader, Lewis Black, Mindy Kaling, and Phyllis Smith, Inside Out took in an estimated $132 million globally, with many significant markets yet to open. The film is the second highest Pixar opening of all time, behind 2010’s Toy Story 3, and continues to be well received among audiences and critics alike.
ABOUT THE MOVIE: Disney/Pixar’s Inside Out ventures inside 11-year-old Riley’s mind, where five Emotions are hard at work in Headquarters, led by optimist Joy, whose mission is to keep Riley happy. Fear heads up safety, Anger ensures all is fair and Disgust prevents Riley from getting poisoned – physically and socially. Sadness isn’t quite sure what her role is. When Riley’s family relocates to a big city, the Emotions help guide her through the bumpy transition. Suddenly, Joy and Sadness are swept into the far reaches of Riley’s mind, and Fear, Anger and Disgust are left in charge of Headquarters. Joy and Sadness must venture through unfamiliar places – Long Term Memory, Imagination Land, Dream Productions – to get back to Headquarters, and Riley. Directed by Academy Award winner Pete Docter, produced by Jonas Rivera, p.g.a. and featuring an original score by Michael Giacchino.
An independent filmmaker, co-writer and director of over a dozen short films, the Editor in Chief of CinemaNerdz.com has spent much of the last three decades as a writer and editor specializing in biographical and critical reference sources in literature and the cinema, beginning in February 1991 reviewing films for his college newspaper. He was a member of the Detroit Film Critics Society, as well as the group's webmaster and one-time President for over a decade until the group ceased to exist. His contributions to film criticism can be found in Magill's Cinema Annual, VideoHound's Golden Movie Retriever (of which he was the editor for nearly a decade until it too ceased to exist), the International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers, and the St. James Film Directors Encyclopedia (on which he collaborated with editor Andrew Sarris). He has also appeared on the television program Critic LEE Speaking alongside Lee Thomas of FOX2 and Adam Graham, of The Detroit News. He currently lives in the Detroit area with his wife and their dogs.
