The summer box office slump is officially over. Pixar and Disney’sFinding Dorymade quite a splash at the Friday box office, taking home a record $55 Million for a projected weekend total of $140.6M. That total exceeds early predictions, which peggedFinding Doryfor a possible $120M opening weekend, and it’s more than enough to claim the title of top animated opening from DreamWorks Animation’sShrek The Third, which has held the title for the last nine years with $121.6M.
The $55M+ Friday projections also earnDorythe title of highest single day earnings for an animated feature, beatingMinions$46M opening day andShrek the Third’s previous record-holding $47M Saturday. Considering the heft of the weekend projection, it’s possible thatDorymight go on to steal that title from itself with the Saturday earnings.
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).
In addition to the record-breaking box office,Doryalso grabbed an A CinemaScore from audiences, making it the 11th Pixar feature to earn the high mark. The widest Pixar release ever with 4,305 theaters,Dorywrests another crown from Pixar’s previous best opening,Toy Story 3,which debuted in 2010 to $110.3M. You can check out a handy breakdown ofPixar’s box office history here.
The weekend’s other new release,Central Intelligence, opened steady with $13 Million in 3,508 theaters, landing the #2 box office spot and a projected $33M weekend total. 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 and is on track to land ahead of last summer’s espionage comedySpy, which debuted to $29 Million.
Elsewhere, New Line’sThe Conjuring 2is poised to finish strong in its second frame, earning third place with an estimated $15-20M.James Wan’s supernatural sequel opened to $40.4 last weekend, marking a steep 60% dropoff, but with an estimated $76 million domestic total in the first two weeks, the moderately budgeted horror sequel remains a bankable franchise for the studio.
Lionsgate’sNow You See Me 2is headed for 4th place in its second weekend with 2.8M on friday for an estimated $9M weekend, with Universal and Legendary’sWarcraftfollowing in the 5th slot with $1.9M for an estimated $5.9M – a huge 76% from its already soft debut weekend. That said, Warcraft continues to thrive outside the US market with an estimated $280M internationally.
Finding Dory
$54,954,119
Central Intelligence
$13,005,000
The Conjuring 2
$5,430,000
$61,605,086
Now You See Me 2
$2,810,000
$34,522,529
$1,930,000
$33,121,525
