Anxiety, voiced by Maya Hawke, arrives in the animated movie “Inside Out 2.”

The success of “Inside Out 2” has brought welcome relief to theater owners, as well as Walt Disney Co.-owned Pixar, especially during the all-important summer movie season.

The sequel to 2015’s “Inside Out” notched a massive domestic opening weekend, hauling in $155 million, shattering pre-release projections that ranged from $80 million to $100 million. The movie’s total global box office revenue is now about $295 million.

Analysts said the movie lighted a spark for this quarter’s box office revenue, providing hope that this year’s box office declines are a reversible trend.

Though the movie has been a hit with families, young adults turned out too. Moviegoers ages 18 to 34 accounted for 37% of the opening weekend domestic audience for “Inside Out 2,” according to Disney. That demographic has been tough for studios to entice in recent months and suggests Pixar was able to tap into moviegoers’ nostalgia, said Daniel Loria, senior vice president at the Boxoffice Co.

The movie’s success is also a win for famed computer animation studio Pixar, which has had a rough time since the pandemic abruptly cut short its release of “Onward” in 2020 and resulted in its next three titles (“Soul,” “Luca” and “Turning Red”) going directly to streaming on Disney+.

Its first movie back in theaters (“Lightyear”) tanked, and although 2023’s “Elemental” ended up having long legs, the company hasn’t landed a bonafide blockbuster like this since “Toy Story 4” five years ago.

The combination of “Inside Out 2” and Sony Pictures’ Will Smith and Martin Lawrence-led “Bad Boys: Ride or Die” is a “great springboard” into the rest of the summer season, said Jeff Kaufman, chief content officer at Malco Theatres, a chain with 34 locations across six states, including Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana and Mississippi.

Kaufman quotes Newton’s law of inertia when it comes to moviegoing habits: An object in motion stays in motion. With the success of “Inside Out 2,” and the strong slate of movies coming after it, he hopes audiences keep returning throughout the fall and holiday season.

There are reasons for optimism. Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment’s family-friendly “Despicable Me 4” and the irreverent R-rated Marvel crossover “Deadpool and Wolverine” are both headed to theaters next month. Multiplexes are also anticipating a strong end-of-year showing with heavy-hitters such as “Gladiator 2,” “Moana 2,” “Wicked” and “Joker: Foie a Deux.”