As Pixar’s sequel unexpectedly becomes the fastest-ever $1bn movie, and with Despicable Me 4 poised to top the box office, film-makers reveal the secrets of their successes – and why adults are the new superfans of family films

Five weeks ago, Hollywood was in the doldrums. A succession of hotly tipped blockbusters – The Fall Guy, Furiosa, IF – flopped. The mood was ominous. The last time early summer box-office takings had been so low was in 2000.

Today, considerably more cheerful records are being broken, thanks entirely to children’s films. Three weeks ago saw the release of Inside Out 2, Pixar’s sequel to its 2015 animation about the emotions jostling for supremacy in the head of an 11-year-old girl named Riley.

The actor wore prosthetic teeth, nose and glasses to experiment with anonymity – but found queueing and a lack of adoration challenging

Immersive research into the everyday lives of normal people conducted by the actor Kevin Bacon has revealed some startling results: it’s not as good as being a celebrity.

Speaking to Vanity Fair, Bacon said he had long hankered after the anonymity of the everyman, so commissioned a prosthetics specialist to enable him to do so.

The Killers of the Flower Moon actor voiced scepticism about the awards circuit

Lily Gladstone has compared awards ceremonies to Squid Game, the brutal Netflix drama about a group of desperate contestants who compete in a series of deadly competitions for a cash prize.

Speaking on The Kelly Clarkson Show, Gladstone discussed her experience of the Oscars circuit, which she participated in thanks to her multiple nominations for her role in Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon.