Animation

Finding Dory Makes Waves At Weekend Box Office

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10 years ago

June 19, 2016

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Pixar Sequel Dominates US Weekend Box Office

♦According to Variety, Finding Dory, Pixar’s sequel to Finding Nemo, is on course for a $140m opening weekend in the US alone…

Disney/Pixar’s animated sequel, playing in 4,305 North American cinemas, grossed a stunning $55 million on its opening day Friday.

Finding Dory will finish the frame with four times the total of action-comedy Central Intelligence, starring Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart, which is launching with a solid $34 million at 3,508 sites this weekend.

Dory will demolish the nine-year-old record for best domestic animated opening, set by “Shrek the Third” in 2007 with $121.6 million. “Minions” was the second largest at $115.7 million, followed by Disney/Pixar’s “Toy Story 3” with $110 million.

At $140 million, “Dory” will rank as the 17th largest domestic opener of all time and the third largest of 2016. Marvel/Disney’s “Captain America: Civil War” had the year’s highest-grossing launch so far with $179 million, the fifth-largest debut of all time.

Recent estimates had placed the opening weekend for “Dory,” with Ellen DeGeneres voicing the forgetful tropical fish, in the $115 million range. So its apparent over-performance is a tonic to the movie business — which has slumped 18 percent during the summer season in the wake of expensive tentpoles such as Warcraft, Alice Through the Looking Glass and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows delivering drab domestic returns.

Early indications show that Disney has a blockbuster that may perform as well as 2003’s original “Finding Nemo,” the fish tale of a father looking for his son, which grossed $936.7 million globally and won the Academy Award for best animated feature. “Finding Dory” will double the $70 million opening weekend of “Finding Nemo.”

The sequel includes original director Andrew Stanton with DeGeneres returning to voice Dory along with Albert Brooks voicing her friend Marlin. Stanton’s co-director Angus MacLane is making his filmmaking debut.

The new story centers on Dory scouring the ocean in search of her long-lost parents. Disney did not provide a budget, but Pixar films typically carry price tags between $175 million and $200 million.

“Finding Dory” is enjoying a 95 percent “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Online ticket service Fandango reported this week that “Finding Dory” had become its top pre-selling animated movie ever. DeGeneres has been celebrating the movie this week on her TV talk show with “Finding Dory Week.”

Central Intelligence is also making a sturdy debut with a $13 million opening day on Friday. Johnson and Hart are paired for the first time, playing high school friends who have become a crack CIA agent and an accountant.

New Line is handling the release domestically and Universal will handle it internationally, with the studios co-financing the $50 million film. “Central Intelligence” reviews have been mostly positive with a 67 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

By contrast, Warcraft has shown plenty of box office power outside the U.S. with about $280 million, including an impressive $156 million in China.

www.variety.com