Coming off a disappointing 2022 that saw Lightyear bomb at the box office and Turning Red release straight to Disney+, 2023 saw Pixar release just one film in theaters. Elemental looked like another box office disappointment, but managed to turn things around and gross nearly $500 million worldwide when it was all said and done.
The unprecedented box office comeback has many looking forward to what Pixar could do in 2024. Unlike last year, 2024 will see Pixar release a total of four films in theaters, although three of them have technically been out on Disney+ for a few months already.
The biggest release of the year for Pixar is undoubtedly Inside Out 2. Set to arrive in theaters on June 14, 2024. Pixar recently released a teaser for the highly anticipated sequel which will revisit the emotions of Riley. The young girl we first met nearly 10 years ago is now a teenager and with that comes all sorts of emotions.
While familiar emotions like Joy (Amy Poehler), Sadness (Phylis Smith) and Anger (Lewis Black) are returning, the teenage Riley will be overcome with some brand new emotions as well, such as Anxiety (Maya Hawke) and possibly a few others like embarrassment, ennui and envy.
Disney and Pixar’s “Inside Out 2” returns to the mind of newly minted teenager Riley just as headquarters is undergoing a sudden demolition to make room for something entirely unexpected: new Emotions! Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear and Disgust, who’ve long been running a successful operation by all accounts, aren’t sure how to feel when Anxiety shows up. And it looks like she’s not alone. Maya Hawke lends her voice to Anxiety, alongside Amy Poehler as Joy, Phyllis Smith as Sadness, Lewis Black as Anger, Tony Hale as Fear, and Liza Lapira as Disgust.
Inside Out 2 is the only new movie releasing in theaters in 2024, but three previous Pixar movies that went straight to Disney+ due to Covid are now getting their chance at a theatrical release.
Soul will be released in theaters on January 12, 2024, followed by Turning Red on February 9, 2024, and Luca on March 22, 2024. All three movies scored fairly well with critics and audiences alike but never got the chance for a theatrical release due to the pandemic.
In addition to these movies, Pixar has two series that are also debuting in 2024. Win or Lose, Pixar's first long-form original series, was supposed to air on Disney+ in December, but was delayed and is now expected to arrive in Spring 2024.
“Win or Lose,” Pixar Animation Studios’ first-ever original series, follows the intertwined stories of eight different characters as they each prepare for their big championship softball game. The series reveals what it actually feels like to be in the shoes of each character—the insecure kids, their helicopter parents, even a lovesick umpire—with incredibly funny, very emotional and uniquely animated perspectives.
Meanwhile, Monsters At Work: Season 2 is also expected to arrive on the streaming platform at some point in 2024.
2023 marked a pivotal year for Disney and Pixar as we were seemingly at a crossroads regarding the future of streaming versus theatrical releases. But looking at Pixar's calendar for 2024, it now seems that Disney still believes Pixar can return to form as a box office behemoth, while still bringing value to Disney+ in the form of original series as well.