Inside Out 2 has continued to outperform expectations at the box office, taking $100m domestically over its second weekend – a drop-off of just 35% from its wildly successful opening weekend.

The film is now on a global total of $724m, marginally ahead of Dune 2, which made $711m over its entire run in cinemas.

Pixar’s sequel to the 2015 animated hit also scored the best-ever second weekend score in the US – behind The Avengers ($103m) but ahead of Barbie ($93m).

The $200m-budgeted film, directed by Kelsey Mann, looks set to hit the $1bn mark within the fortnight, which would make it the first film of the year to do so.

However, it will face competition from A Quiet Place: Day One, out this weekend, which will take away premium-priced Imax screens, as well as Despicable Me 4 a week later.

That film is already out in Australia and Argentina before a slow expansion worldwide. Inside Out 2 is now out in all key markets except Japan.

Hopes are high that the peak summer season can lift the box office out of concerning early doldrums, with much resting on releases such as Twisters, starring Glen Powell, and Deadpool & Wolverine.

That film, whose R-rating in the US may cap its potential earnings, is the first superhero movie of the year; a deficit widely credited with exacerbating the financial slump.

Later in the year, sequels such as Joker 2, Gladiator 2 and Venom 4 are predicted to provide a fourth-quarter boost.