In an unfortunate turn of events, Pixar is continuing with layoffs at its Emeryville animation studio in the same month that its latest release is smashing box office records and raking in cash at theaters worldwide.

Inside Out 2 is now officially Pixar's highest-grossing release to date, edging out Incredibles 2, which has grossed $1,242,805,359 since its 2018 release.

The new film, a sequel to the successful Inside Out (2015), has proven even more popular with audiences than the original, grossing $1,251,434,061 as of this week, according to The Numbers. The original film grossed a total of $850,309,035.

As ABC News reports, this means that Inside Out 2 is now among the 25 highest grossing films of all time, ranking 23rd.

And as the Hollywood Reporter notes, the movie is "within days" of overtaking one or all of the highest grossing animated films of all time, which are Frozen ($1.274 billion), The Super Mario Bros. Movie ($1.361 billion), and Frozen II ($1.451 billion). The film is reportedly playing well in South Korea and has not yet opened in Japan, and it is doing historically well across Latin America, grossing $91.5 million in Mexico, and $58.9 million in Brazil.

The story of Inside Out 2 follows the main character from the first film, Riley, as she enters puberty and deals with the horrors of becoming a teenager. The personifications of her emotions Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust are, to their dismay, joined by new emotions that everyone can relate to and no one likes, Anxiety, Envy, Ennui, and Embarrassment.

This is a much-needed win for Pixar after several slump years that saw three of its films go straight to Disney+, skipping the box office. As the LA Times writes, the movie has gone "a long way toward easing anxiety (pun intended) surrounding the Disney-owned computer animation studio’s prospects."

But this doesn't seem to be enough to save 181 Pixar employees who are reportedly being laid off as of July 26. This is from a filing with the state Employment Development Department, as KRON4 reports. And it's not clear if this is in addition to the 175 Pixar employees who were given layoff notices in May — which represented 14% of the company's workforce at the time.

The staff reduction was linked to the company's move away from series production for Disney+, which occupied some segment of the company for several years. All of the productions that were ongoing for Disney+ were scrapped entirely in May, with the exception of Win or Lose, a softball-themed kids' series with SNL alum Will Forte voicing the coach.

Once known for churning out reliable hits nearly every year, Pixar had a couple of notable flops before and after the pandemic. Onward became an immediate box office disappointment after having a release date of March 6, 2020. And Lightyear, the Toy Story prequel, bombed at the box office after its release in 2022. In between, three films that could have proven bona fide box office hits, Soul, Luca, and Turning Red, went straight to streaming.

Previously: Pixar Hit With Layoffs Affecting 14% of Its Staff