In what's probably not a big surprise to anyone, Finding Dory is doing swimmingly (had to be done) at the box office. With summer vacation just starting up, the theaters will be swarming with kids looking to usher in the break with arguably the biggest kid-friendly film of the summer. This no doubt helped Finding Dory on Thursday, and it's now being reported that the sequel has already broken some records. The fishy movie made $9.2 million dollars on opening night, a record for any animated film.
$9.2 million may not sound like a lot when movies like Captain America: Civil War are making $400 million, but for animated movies, it's actually pretty good. According to Deadline, Finding Dory's $9.2 million haul makes it the highest grossing premiere of any animated movie. Compare that to Pixar's last hit Inside Out, which made $3.7 million or their biggest hit, Toy Story 3, with $4 million. It also beat out another animation titan, Minions, with its $6.2 million on its opening night. Finding Dory is Pixar's widest release and is expected to make more than a $100 million.
The other big film to hit this weekend probably won't reach quite as high. Central Intelligence opened with $1.8 million to its name. That sounds small but puts it in league with other comedies like Spy, Get Hard, and The Heat, which all opened at around a million. Central Intelligence is expected to make around $30 million when the weekend ends. So while It may have a little Hart and a big Johnson, but the film still has a way to go.
Finding Dory comes at a time when a bunch of big budget blockbusters have been underperforming. Warcraft was a flop stateside (but it's doing great in China), and Alice Through The Looking Glass and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out Of The Shadows have both underperformed with budgets over the $130 million mark. Finding Dory will hopefully rejuvenate the box office, with its beautiful animation and touching story.
The sequel to 2003's Finding Nemo, Pixar and Disney's Finding Dory takes place a year after the events of the first movie. After getting her memory jogged, the ever forgetful Dory (Ellen DeGeneres) remembers that she used to have a family and goes on a journey to find her long-lost parents. Eventually she gets trapped at the Marine Life Institute, an aquarium/ fish hospital where she meets new characters played by Ed O'Neill, Idris Elba, Kaitlin Olson, and Ty Burrell. Pixar staple Andrew Stanton also returns to direct from a screenplay that he co-wrote.
Finding Dory is out in theaters right now, so grab your kids (or maybe go by yourself) and go see what all the hubbub is about.
