diff --git a/js/ui/layout.js b/js/ui/layout.js
index f35787a30..70ece6cab 100644
--- a/js/ui/layout.js
+++ b/js/ui/layout.js
@@ -664,13 +664,18 @@ var LayoutManager = GObject.registerClass({
             this.keyboardBox.hide();
 
             let monitor = this.primaryMonitor;
-            let x = monitor.x + monitor.width / 2.0;
-            let y = monitor.y + monitor.height / 2.0;
 
-            this.uiGroup.set_pivot_point(x / global.screen_width,
-                                         y / global.screen_height);
-            this.uiGroup.scale_x = this.uiGroup.scale_y = 0.75;
-            this.uiGroup.opacity = 0;
+            if (!Main.sessionMode.hasOverview) {
+                const x = monitor.x + monitor.width / 2.0;
+                const y = monitor.y + monitor.height / 2.0;
+
+                this.uiGroup.set_pivot_point(
+                    x / global.screen_width,
+                    y / global.screen_height);
+                this.uiGroup.scale_x = this.uiGroup.scale_y = 0.75;
+                this.uiGroup.opacity = 0;
+            }
+
             global.window_group.set_clip(monitor.x, monitor.y, monitor.width, monitor.height);
 
             await this._updateBackgrounds();
@@ -700,14 +705,19 @@ var LayoutManager = GObject.registerClass({
     }
 
     _startupAnimationSession() {
-        this.uiGroup.ease({
-            scale_x: 1,
-            scale_y: 1,
-            opacity: 255,
-            duration: STARTUP_ANIMATION_TIME,
-            mode: Clutter.AnimationMode.EASE_OUT_QUAD,
-            onComplete: () => this._startupAnimationComplete(),
-        });
+        const onComplete = () => this._startupAnimationComplete();
+        if (Main.sessionMode.hasOverview) {
+            Main.overview.runStartupAnimation(onComplete);
+        } else {
+            this.uiGroup.ease({
+                scale_x: 1,
+                scale_y: 1,
+                opacity: 255,
+                duration: STARTUP_ANIMATION_TIME,
+                mode: Clutter.AnimationMode.EASE_OUT_QUAD,
+                onComplete,
+            });
+        }
     }
 
     _startupAnimationComplete() {
diff --git a/js/ui/overview.js b/js/ui/overview.js
index ac1a349da..209be4203 100644
--- a/js/ui/overview.js
+++ b/js/ui/overview.js
@@ -107,6 +107,10 @@ class OverviewActor extends St.BoxLayout {
         this._controls.animateFromOverview(callback);
     }
 
+    runStartupAnimation(callback) {
+        this._controls.runStartupAnimation(callback);
+    }
+
     get dash() {
         return this._controls.dash;
     }
@@ -647,6 +651,23 @@ var Overview = class {
         this._show(OverviewControls.ControlsState.APP_GRID);
     }
 
+    runStartupAnimation(callback) {
+        this._shown = true;
+        this._visible = true;
+        this._visibleTarget = true;
+        Main.layoutManager.showOverview();
+        this._syncGrab();
+
+        Meta.disable_unredirect_for_display(global.display);
+
+        this.emit('showing');
+
+        this._overview.runStartupAnimation(() => {
+            this.emit('shown');
+            callback();
+        });
+    }
+
     getShowAppsButton() {
         logError(new Error('Usage of Overview.\'getShowAppsButton\' is deprecated, ' +
             'use \'dash.showAppsButton\' property instead'));
diff --git a/js/ui/overviewControls.js b/js/ui/overviewControls.js
index 4f0abeb28..72542b381 100644
--- a/js/ui/overviewControls.js
+++ b/js/ui/overviewControls.js
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ const { Clutter, Gio, GObject, Meta, Shell, St } = imports.gi;
 
 const AppDisplay = imports.ui.appDisplay;
 const Dash = imports.ui.dash;
+const Layout = imports.ui.layout;
 const Main = imports.ui.main;
 const Overview = imports.ui.overview;
 const SearchController = imports.ui.searchController;
@@ -41,6 +42,7 @@ class ControlsManagerLayout extends Clutter.BoxLayout {
         this._dash = dash;
 
         this._cachedWorkspaceBoxes = new Map();
+        this._postAllocationCallbacks = [];
 
         stateAdjustment.connect('notify::value', () => this.layout_changed());
     }
@@ -100,6 +102,14 @@ class ControlsManagerLayout extends Clutter.BoxLayout {
         return appDisplayBox;
     }
 
+    _runPostAllocation() {
+        if (this._postAllocationCallbacks.length === 0)
+            return;
+
+        this._postAllocationCallbacks.forEach(cb => cb());
+        this._postAllocationCallbacks = [];
+    }
+
     vfunc_set_container(container) {
         this._container = container;
         this.hookup_style(container);
@@ -192,6 +202,14 @@ class ControlsManagerLayout extends Clutter.BoxLayout {
         childBox.set_size(width, availableHeight);
 
         this._searchController.allocate(childBox);
+
+        this._runPostAllocation();
+    }
+
+    ensureAllocation() {
+        this.layout_changed();
+        return new Promise(
+            resolve => this._postAllocationCallbacks.push(resolve));
     }
 
     getWorkspacesBoxForState(state) {
@@ -695,6 +713,60 @@ class ControlsManager extends St.Widget {
         this._stateAdjustment.gestureInProgress = false;
     }
 
+    async runStartupAnimation(callback) {
+        this._ignoreShowAppsButtonToggle = true;
+
+        this._searchController.prepareToEnterOverview();
+        this._workspacesDisplay.prepareToEnterOverview();
+
+        this._stateAdjustment.value = ControlsState.HIDDEN;
+        this._stateAdjustment.ease(ControlsState.WINDOW_PICKER, {
+            duration: Overview.ANIMATION_TIME,
+            mode: Clutter.AnimationMode.EASE_OUT_QUAD,
+        });
+
+        this.dash.showAppsButton.checked = false;
+        this._ignoreShowAppsButtonToggle = false;
+
+        // Set the opacity here to avoid a 1-frame flicker
+        this.opacity = 0;
+
+        // We can't run the animation before the first allocation happens
+        await this.layout_manager.ensureAllocation();
+
+        const { STARTUP_ANIMATION_TIME } = Layout;
+
+        // Opacity
+        this.ease({
+            opacity: 255,
+            duration: STARTUP_ANIMATION_TIME,
+            mode: Clutter.AnimationMode.LINEAR,
+        });
+
+        // Search bar falls from the ceiling
+        const { primaryMonitor } = Main.layoutManager;
+        const [, y] = this._searchEntryBin.get_transformed_position();
+        const yOffset = y - primaryMonitor.y;
+
+        this._searchEntryBin.translation_y = -(yOffset + this._searchEntryBin.height);
+        this._searchEntryBin.ease({
+            translation_y: 0,
+            duration: STARTUP_ANIMATION_TIME,
+            mode: Clutter.AnimationMode.EASE_OUT_QUAD,
+        });
+
+        // The Dash rises from the bottom. This is the last animation to finish,
+        // so run the callback there.
+        this.dash.translation_y = this.dash.height;
+        this.dash.ease({
+            translation_y: 0,
+            delay: STARTUP_ANIMATION_TIME,
+            duration: STARTUP_ANIMATION_TIME,
+            mode: Clutter.AnimationMode.EASE_OUT_QUAD,
+            onComplete: () => callback(),
+        });
+    }
+
     get searchEntry() {
         return this._searchEntry;
     }