Disney/Pixar’s Finding Dory is dominating the box office! The animated sequel grossed an additional $73.2 million in its second weekend, dipping 46 percent.
Finding Dory has accumulated a total of $286.6 million domestically and $396.9 million worldwide in just 10 days. The movie follows a lovable-but-forgetful Dory (voiced by Ellen DeGeneres) as she searches for her parents (voiced by Eugene Levy and Diane Keaton); it features new and returning voice talent including Ed O’Neill, Albert Brooks and Idris Elba.
“I’m not surprised that it did this well,” says comScore senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian. “It’s been a go-to movie for everyone, and that’s the magic of the Pixar brand. Having a Pixar movie in the summer mix is always good for business.”
The weekend’s new wide releases include Roland Emmerich’s Independence Day: Resurgence and Jaume Collet-Serra’s The Shallow, in second and fourth place, respectively.
Resurgence debuted with $41.6 million from 4,068 theaters, less than the 1996 original’s $50 million opening (which starred Will Smith). The $165 million sequel, takes place two decades after the first invasion, where aliens return to destroy Earth. Moviegoers, who were 58 percent male with 64 percent over 25, gave the film a B CinemaScore, while critics gave it a 33 percent “fresh” score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Although Smith didn’t return to reprise his role, Bill Pullman, Vivica Fox and Jeff Goldblum came back for the sequel with newcomers Liam Hemsworth and Jessie Usher.
The Shallows, starring Blake Lively as a surfer in a battle with a great white shark, opened with $16.7 million from 2,962 theaters. The shark attack thriller received a B-plus CinemaScore from moviegoers – who were slightly younger (53 percent under the age of 25) and female (54 percent) – and a 74 percent “fresh” score on Rotten Tomatoes from critics.
Blake Lively Battles a Massive Shark in THE SHALLOWS
“It’s a new twist on the classic shark movie, and we’re well set up to play into the Fourth of July,” said Josh Greenstein, Sony’s head of worldwide marketing and distribution. “Genre movies getting in the 70s on Rotten Tomatoes is a pretty remarkable thing to achieve.”
In third place at the box office is Central Intelligence with $18.4 million in its second week out. The film, starring Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart, has accumulated $69.3 million since its debut.
Rounding out the top five is STX Entertainment’s newcomer Free State of Jones with $7.8 million from 2,815 theaters for a fifth place finish. The Civil War drama tells the true story of Newt Knight (played by Matthew McConaughey), a defiant Southern farmer who laucnhed an uprising and later married a former slave. Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Keri Russell and Mahershala Ali also star in the film.
Audiences, who were two-thirds over the age of 35, gave the film an A-minus CinemaScore, while critics gave it 40 percent “fresh” score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Top 10 Films at Weekend Box Office: June 24-26
- Finding Dory — $73.2 million
- Independence Day: Resurgence — $41.6 million
- Central Intelligence — $18.4 million
- The Shallow — $16.7 million
- Free State of Jones — $7.8 million
- The Conjuring 2 — $7.7 million
- Now You See Me 2 — $5.7 million
- X-Men: Apocalypse — $2.5 million
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows — $2.4 million
- Alice Through The Looking Glass — $2.15 million
