Inside Out 2 Director Kelsey Mann Just Set An Impressive Box Office Record

It was a little touch and go during the first couple of years of the pandemic, but it feels relatively safe to say that Pixar is back. Director Kelsey Mann's "Inside Out 2" hit theaters this past weekend and delivered a massive, most welcome boon to the box office with record-breaking $295 million global opening. It ranks as the biggest global opening ever for an animated film. That number includes an estimated $155 million domestically, which is the second-biggest domestic opening for an animated movie ever behind only 2018's "Incredibles 2" ($182.6 million). It also means that Mann has earned his place in cinema history as the film secured another pretty impressive record over the weekend.

While Mann has been working at Pixar for more than a decade, "Inside Out 2" serves as his feature directorial debut. That being the case, that $155 million number is very important as it means Mann now holds the record for the biggest opening weekend at the box office for a first-time feature director. "Inside Out 2" edged out 2019's "Captain Marvel" ($153.4 million) to make it into the top 25 opening weekends ever domestically. More importantly, it surpassed director Tim Miller's "Deadpool," which earned $132.4 million on its opening weekend back in 2016, to become the biggest debut for a feature directorial debut. But there's a new champ in town.

Granted, this is an apples to oranges situation. This isn't accounting for inflation, for one. The two movies in question are also radically different. "Deadpool" was an R-rated superhero movie that wasn't going for the family crowd. "Inside Out 2" is a PG Disney movie hailing from one of the most roundly beloved studios in the history of cinema. All of that being said, this is a shining example of Pixar being able to elevate a filmmaker and set them up for success, which is something it's done for a long time. It just worked out ridiculously well in this situation.

Breaking through as a first-time director can be difficult. Making a Pixar movie is certainly one way to stand out in the crowd. Granted, it's not as though making a $200 million animated blockbuster is an easy task for a director's first step up to the plate. Therein lies the beauty of the Pixar system as it's designed though, as the studio tends to elevate people from within. Eventually, some of them even get the chance to tackle a feature film. That's precisely what happened with Mann, who previously worked as a story supervisor on films like "The Good Dinosaur" and "Monsters University."

This is far from the first time that Pixar has implemented a similar strategy to great success. Josh Cooley worked in the animation department on movies like "Up" and "Brave" as well as directing the "Riley's First Date" short before helming "Toy Story 4," which went on to become a $1 billion hit. Dan Scanlon also worked at the studio for years before eventually taking the director's chair for "Monsters University." In that way, Pixar is back to doing what Pixar does best.

That's part of why this movie's shocking level of success is so encouraging. Coupled with "Elemental" exceeding expectations last year after a rough start, Pixar is re-establishing itself as a viable theatrical brand after "Soul," "Luca," and "Turning Red" were dumped directly to Disney+. Cinema needs Pixar for a few key reasons, not the least of which is for fostering talent that can deliver great films for years to come. Mann now has a promising career ahead of him. Next year, Adrian Molina gets to make his solo feature debut with Pixar's "Elio." Here's hoping the pattern continues. For now, Mann has earned a victory lap.

"Inside Out 2" is in theaters now.