The numbers speak for themselves. Inside Out 2 is the highest-grossing animated film in history (not taking inflation into account). What’s more, wi

After the summer success of ‘Inside Out 2,’ the animation industry faces an uncertain future

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2024-09-05 01:00:03

The numbers speak for themselves. Inside Out 2 is the highest-grossing animated film in history (not taking inflation into account). What’s more, with more than $1.63 billion in box office sales, it is so far the 10th highest-grossing movie overall. It is the highest-grossing film in the history of Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Chile and Uruguay. Its success has been overwhelming, but does not in any way take away from the other triumph of animation: Despicable Me 4, which made $850 million, and is the third most watched film of the year, enshrining the minions as one of the great cinematic icons of the 21st century. Both movies succeeded in a family-friendly summer. And yet, the future of this very important space in the cinema is cause for some anxiety.

So far, the response has been euphoria. It is the feeling that best describes the success of animated movies in a summer where Kung Fu Panda 4 and the new Garfield movie also performed well at the box office. But uncertainty is looming on the horizon. Last November, Jeffrey Katzenberg — the co-founder of DreamWorks, who was the president of Disney in the 1990s — warned artificial intelligence will eliminate 90% of artistic jobs in animation within three years: “In the good old days when I made an animated movie, it took 500 artists five years to make a world-class animated movie. I think it won’t take 10% of that.”