Audiences just kept swimming to the movie theater this weekend, setting new box office records in the process.
Debuting in the top spot as expected was Finding Dory (read our review), the latest from Pixar Animation Studios. The film brought in a whopping $136.1 million in its first three days, a new all-time high for an opening weekend in Pixar’s storied history. It’s also the second best start ever for the month of June, trailing only Jurassic World‘s $208.8 million. In addition, Dory posted the second largest opening weekend for this summer (behind fellow Disney release Captain America: Civil War), and third best for all of 2016. This was just the shot in the arm the marketplace needed after weeks of tentpoles that underperformed.
Finding Dory should have a rather lucrative run when it’s all said and done. The sequel earned positive reviews across the board, becoming the next in a long line of critically acclaimed hits from Pixar. In addition, the family demographic won’t have many options available until The Secret Life of Pets opens in a few weeks, so Dory has a monopoly on that highly-coveted corner of the audience. Whichever way you look at it, this movie is poised to be the year’s next big blockbuster and will definitely turn a nifty profit for Disney – adding to their astronomical totals from this year.
Opening in a very distant second is Central Intelligence (read our review), which grossed $34.5 million. Riding the popularity of stars Kevin Hart and Dwayne Johnson, the action comedy was able to appeal to moviegoers – with an assist to the generally positive word-of-mouth that sold it as an entertaining time at the movies. It gave action and comedy fans something fresh and original to check out, which also boosted its figures. Time will tell how strong of a holdover it will be (especially with several new arrivals next week), but this is a very strong start and Central Intelligence should prove to be another financial success under Johnson’s belt. The production budget was “only” $50 million, and the film has brought in $41.3 million globally thus far.
Last week’s champ The Conjuring 2 falls to third in its second weekend, posting $15.5 million. That’s a sizable 61.5 percent drop off, well above how the original performed back in 2013. Some may read that as the franchise not being as in demand as one would thing, but there isn’t much to be concerned about. Finding Dory obviously stole a lot of business from people of all ages, and Central Intelligence had a high profile heading into the weekend. It would have been more surprising if Conjuring 2 had held on to the second spot. The horror sequel is still in great shape. It’s grossed $71.7 million domestically and $187.9 million worldwide on a $40 million budget.
In fourth is Now You See Me 2. The followup grossed $9.6 million in its second weekend to raise its U.S. total to $41.3 million.
Rounding out the top five is Warcraft, which dropped 73 percent in its second weekend in North America. The video game adaptation made $6.5 million and is now up to $37.7 million in the States. Globally, it’s currently at $377.6 million as it continues to perform well overseas.
X-Men: Apocalypse finishes in sixth place with $5.2 million. The superhero film is now up to $146 million domestically.
The #7 film is Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows, which brought in $5.2 million in its third weekend. The sequel raised its domestic total to $71.9 million.
Coming in eighth is Me Before You. The romantic drama grossed $4.1 million and has now made $46.3 million during its run.
Alice Through the Looking Glass came in ninth, grossing $3.6 million. The flop is up to $69.3 million in the States.
Capping off the top ten is Captain America: Civil War. Marvel’s superhero epic made $2.2 million, becoming the first film of 2016 to cross the $400 million threshold in America.
[NOTE: These are only weekend box office estimates — based on Friday and Saturday ticket sales coupled with adjusted expectations for Sunday. Official weekend box office results will be released on Monday, June 20 — at which time we’ll update this post with any changes.]
