Pixar’s Incredibles 2 got off to a super start at the box office, shattering a Thursday night preview record. For a while now, the highly-anticipated sequel has been expected to be one of the summer’s biggest hits, and it certainly looks like Incredibles 2 is going to live up to that billing. After receiving widespread positive reviews from critics, the most recent commercial projections indicate the film’s opening weekend could bring in as much as $150 million domestically, which would set a new all-time mark for Pixar and the animation medium in general.

Of course, box office estimates aren’t an exact science and can be wrong from time to time. A recent example that proves this is Solo: A Star Wars Story. Lucasfilm’s spinoff was at one point poised to sail past the Memorial Day weekend record, but it fell well short and ended up losing Disney quite a bit of money. Fortunately for the Mouse House, it looks like they’re set to rebound quite nicely thanks to the Parr family.

According to THR, Incredibles 2 grossed $18.5 million from its Thursday night preview screenings, which more than doubles the previous record holder for an animated film (Finding Dory; $9.2 million). Not only that, Pixar’s latest made more than what live-action superhero films such as Spider-Man: Homecoming ($15.4 million) and Thor: Ragnarok ($14.5 million) earned in their respective Thursday debuts.

Of course, it’s worth mentioning the aforementioned Solo got off to a strong start on its own Thursday night last month, but we expect Incredibles 2 to play out much differently. For starters, animated family films are one of the surest things the industry has to a box office lock (especially when it’s Pixar), and there is a void for this kind of programming in the marketplace. Kid-friendly animated movies have been hard to come by in the first half of 2018, and Incredibles 2 is definitely the most high-profile to open in months. Plus, the positive word-of-mouth and pent up demand all but ensured crowds would be flocking to the theater to see this sequel on the big screen. If Incredibles 2 doesn’t score a massive opening weekend, it will be an extremely surprising turn of events.

Incredibles 2 making this kind of money doesn’t mean a third installment is on the horizon. It took Brad Bird 14 years (after the original was a big hit in its own right), meaning he won’t make another Incredibles unless he cracks a compelling story. Additionally, Pixar seems to be putting more of a focus on original films again, seeing that they don’t have any more sequels in-development after next summer’s Toy Story 4. That shouldn’t set them back in any way, since audiences tend to enjoy whatever they come up with.

MORE: Does Incredibles 2 Have a Post-Credits Scene?

Source: THR

  • The Incredibles 2 Release Date: 2018-06-15