While there have already been plenty of massive hits at thebox officein the first half of this year, a number of sequels have been underperforming as of late. BothX-Men: ApocalypseandTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadowscame in far below their predecessors over the past few weeks, although last weekend’sThe Conjuring 2opened on par with the first movie. This weekend,Finding Dorybreathed new life into the summer movie season by opening with $136.1 million, the third highest debut this year.
Box Office Mojoreports thatFinding Doryopened in a whopping 4,305 theaters, the 12th widest release of all time. Warner Bros’Central Intelligenceopened in a distant second place but still performed well, earning $34.5 million, earning a solid $9,835 per-screen average from 3,508 theaters.Finding Dory, which features a star-studdedvoice castincludingEllen DeGeneres,Albert Brooks,Diane Keaton,Eugene Levy,Ty Burrell,Willem Dafoe,Ed O’NeilandIdris Elba, is already a hit with critics, earning an astounding 95% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes,Central Intelligenceposting a 66% rating on RT.Finding Dory’s opening weekend haul breaksShrek the Third’s $121.6 million record as the biggest debut for an animated movie, while also surpassingToy Story 3’s $110.3 million mark for the biggest debut in Pixar history.
It’s certainly possible that the success ofThe Conjuring 2and the record-breaking debut ofFinding Dorycould lead to other follow-ups hitting it big at the box office. Next weekend brings the long-awaitedIndependence Day: Resurgencefrom 20th Century Fox, while the weekend after will mark the debut ofThe Purge: Election Year. However, both of those movies will be going up against some rather stiff competition, withIndependence Day: ResurgencefacingThe Free State of JonesandThe Neon Demon, whileThe Purge: Election YearfacesThe BFG,The Legend of TarzanandThe Shallows.
Finding Doryreunites the friendly-but-forgetful blue tang fish with her loved ones, and everyone learns a few things about the true meaning of family along the way. The all-new big-screen adventure dives into theaters this summer, taking moviegoers back to the extraordinaryunderwater worldfrom the original film. The story takes place six months after the events ofFinding Nemo, with Dory living what appears to be a nice, quiet life swimming amongst the other clown fish. But after setting off with Nemo on a class trip to see manta rays migrate back home, she becomes a bit homesick herself. This leads the forgetful blue tang on a quest to discover where she truly comes from, where she meets a number of new ocean creatures along the way.
Central Intelligencefollows a one-time bullied geek, Bob, who grew up to be a lethal CIA agent (Dwayne Johnson), coming home for his high school reunion. Claiming to be on a top-secret case, he enlists the help of former ‘big man on campus,’ Calvin (Kevin Hart), now an accountant who misses his glory days. But before the staid numbers-cruncher realizes what he’s getting into, it’s too late to get out, as his increasingly unpredictable new friend drags him through a world of shoot-outs, double-crosses and espionage that could get them both killed in more ways than Calvin can count. The top 5 will be rounded out byThe Conjuring 2($15.5 million),Now You See Me 2($9.6 million) andWarcraft($6.5 million).Warcraftdropped a whopping 73% from its opening weekend, but the film has become a huge hit overseas, already raking in $339.9 million internationally for a worldwide total of $377.6 million.
The top 10 will be rounded out byX-Men: Apocalypse($5.21 million),Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows($5.20 million),Me Before You($4.1 million),Alice Through the Looking Glass($3.6 million) andCaptain America: Civil War($2.2 million). Also opening in limited release is Magnolia’s documentaryTickled, which earned $24,000 from two theaters for a $12,000 per-screen average, The Weinstein Company’s horror-thrillerClown, which earned $27,000 from 100 theaters for a paltry $270 per-screen average. No box office data was released for Magnolia’s action-adventureThe Last King, Film Movement’s documentaryMy Love, Don’t Cross That River, First Run’s documentaryArgentina, Hannover House’s romantic comedyA Remarkable Life. It isn’t clear yet if any of these limited release titles have plans to expand in the weeks and months ahead.
Looking ahead to next weekend, 20th Century Fox’s highly-anticipated sequelIndependence Day: Resurgence, STX Entertainment’sThe Free State of Jonesand Broad Green Pictures’The Neon Demon. Also opening in limited release next weekend is Independent’s sci-fi action-thrillerThe Call Up, Sony Pictures Classics' documentaryEat That Question: Frank Zappa in His Own Words, Argot Pictures' documentaryFrom this Day Forward, The Orchard’sHunt for the Wilderpeople, Strand’s dramatic comedyThe Kind Words, Cohen Media Group’s dramaLes Cowboys, A24’s comedySwiss Army Manand IFC’s documentaryWiener Dog. Be sure to check back on Sunday for the box office estimates, and again on Tuesday for next week’s predictions. Until then, take a look at our projected top 10 for the weekend of June 17.
