Disney’s banner year at the box office continues with a record-breaking debut from Pixar’s long-awaitedFinding Dory, which opened this weekend to $136.2 Million, the biggest domestic opening for an animated film of all time. The handsome sum also earnsDorythe title of the second-largest June opening of all time after last year’sJurassic World($208.8M).
Arriving 13 years afterFinding Nemofirst landed in theaters,Doryalso claimed the single day record for an animated film with its Friday gross of $55M, earning another $45.8M on Saturday and a projected $35.5M on Sunday. The film has been a hit with critics and audiences alike, earning 95% on Rotten Tomatoes and Pixar’s 17th consecutive A CinemaScore
Overseas,Finding Dorygrossed $50M as it opened in 32% of the marketplace for a global bow of $186.2 million, including the biggest Pixar weekend ever in China with $17.5 million and the biggest Pixar/Disney debut in Australia with $7.6 million. The film will continue to roll out internationally over the summer and the fall, continuing next week in France and Spain.
Directed by Andrew Stanton andAngusMacLane, the sequel toon seesEllen DeGeneresreturn as the titular Dory, the adorable little fish with a bad case of memory loss who sets out on a quest to reunite with her long-lost parents. Accompanied by Nemo (newcomerHayden Rolence) and Marlin (Albert Brooks), Dory’s voyage leads them to a number of new friends, including a white beluga whale named Destiny (Ty Burrell), a white shark (Kaitlin Olson) and a cranky octopus (Ed O’Neill).
Finding Dory’s success continues a mammoth year for Disney, Pixar’s parent company, which has released the year’s three highest grossing pictures globally in the megahitsZootopia,Captain America: Civil War, andThe Jungle Book. Odds are,Dorywill join them in those topmost ranks by year’s end.
The weekend’s other big release, the action comedyCentral Intelligencelaunched to a healthy $34.5M, slightly above it’s $30M projection. New Line, Warner Bros. and Universal teamed up to foot the bill for the $50M action comedy with New Line releasing the film domestically with Universal handling international distribution.
Rawson Marshall Thurber‘s spy comedy starsDwayne JohnsonandKevin Hartas the mismatched duo at the heart of the action. The film follows Johnson’s Bob Stone, a hulking CIA agent and one-time teenage geek who returns home for his high school reunion and enlists his former classmate Calvin (Hart) to help clear his name after being framed for treason.Amy RyanandAaron Paulco-star.Central Intelligencelanded an A- CinemaScore with an audience that skewed slightly female (51%) and older (53% over 25).
As for returning films, last week’s box office champion, New Line’sThe Conjuring 2, slid 62% to third place with $15.6M for a domestic total of $71.7M. Also in its second frame, Lionsgate’sNow You See Me 2fell 57% to $9.7M for a domestic total of $41.4M. By comparison, 2013’sNow You See Mefell only 35% in its second weekend.
However, in terms of steep drops, Universal and Legendary’sWarcraftsuffered the hardest, tumbling 73% to $6.5M and bringing the modest 10-day domestic total to $37.7M. That said, the film continues to triumph in China, which has boosted the global total to an impressive $377.7M.
Finding Dory
$136,183,170
Central Intelligence
$34,500,000
The Conjuring 2
$15,555,000
Now You See Me 2
$9,650,000
$6,520,000
X-Men: Apocalypse
$5,210,000
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2
$5,200,000
Me Before You
$4,155,000
Alice through the Looking Glass
$3,615,385
Captain America: Civil war
$2,296,207
