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 A week after energizing the summer season, Disney/Pixar's
"Finding Dory" declined only 46% and generated the
eighth-highest second weekend of all time, edging "Captain
America: Civil War." It's also the best second weekend for an
animated title.
"Finding Dory," the sequel to 2003's "Finding Nemo," is already
the sixth-highest domestic grosser of 2016 after ten days with
$285.6 million -- less than $100 million short of the final
total for "Nemo."
Fox's "Independence Day: Resurgence" finished about 20% below
recent forecasts, which had pegged the sequel to match the $50
million opening weekend from the 1996 original. It edged "Kung
Fu Panda 2" as the eighth-largest opening of 2016.
"Resurgence" brought back the same fearsome aliens from the
original, again bent on destroying the Earth. Will Smith, who
broke out in the original, did not return to battle the invaders
although Bill Pullman, Vivica Fox and Jeff Goldblum reprised
their characters with newcomers Liam Hemsworth and Jessie Usher
coming on board.
Attendees were 58% male with 64% over 25. "Resurgence" generated
a B Cinemascore.
Roland Emmerich returned to the director's chair to helm the
$165 million tentpole, which will require strong performances
from international markets to become profitable. "Resurgence"
took in $102 million from 57 markets in a day-and-date rollout
for much of the world.
Blake Lively's shark tale "The Shallows" performed above
forecasts with a $16.7 million launch for Sony while Matthew
McConaughey's historical drama "Free State of Jones" started
quietly with $7.8 million for STX.
Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst with comScore, said
that the overall weekend was nearly identical in total box
office gross to the same weekend a year ago when "Jurassic
World" and "Inside Out" dominated the multiplex.
"The great continued performance by 'Finding Dory' bolstered a
very mixed set of results for the remaining films in the Top
10," he noted. "There was good news for one of the newcomers as
Sony's 'The Shallows' benefited from great reviews and social
media buzz to creep up silently like a shark and surprised
everyone with its performance."
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The weekend results underline how dominant Disney has been in 2016
with "Captain America: Civil War," "The Jungle Book" and "Zootopia"
all topping the $340 million mark after "Star Wars: The Force
Awakens" generated massive holdover grosses in January.
For its part, Fox generated a surprise smash with "Deadpool" taking
in $363 million domestically and solid returns from "X-Men:
Apocalypse" -- which brought in $2.5 million in its sixth weekend to
lift its domestic total to $151 million.
"The Shallows," which centers on Lively's bikini-clad character
battling for survival in a shark's feeding ground, generated a B+
Cinemascore and nearly matched its modest $17 million price tag.
Sony distribution chief Rory Bruer said the social outreach campaign
had been effective.
"We were able to convey that this is a movie that has you on the
edge of your seat and is both fun and scary," he added.
"The Shallows" finished a close fourth behind New Line/Universal's
second weekend of "Central Intelligence," which declined 48% to
$18.4 million. The Kevin Hart-Dwayne Johnson action-comedy has
topped $69 million in 10 days.
"Free State of Jones," starring McConaughey as the leader of a
rebellion against the Confederacy, came in fifth and finished below
forecasts. It cost $50 million to make but STX's exposure is under
$10 million.
New Line's third weekend of "The Conjuring 2" grossed $7.7 million
to finish in sixth with a total of $86.9 million. Lionsgate's third
frame of "Now You See Me 2" took in $5.7 million to bring its total
to $52.1 million.
Broad Green's release of Amazon's "Neon Demon," starring Elle
Fanning in a dreamlike fashion world film, generated little traction
with $606,574 at 783 locations -- a limp $783 per screen average.
A24 saw an impressive opening for its offbeat "Swiss Army Men,"
starring Daniel Radcliffe, with $114,000 at three sites.
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