‘Finding Dory’ Expected To Finally Get Summer Box Office Rolling

Finding Dory is set to premiere in a matter of days and by all accounts, the wallets of moviegoers everywhere are going to get a lot lighter at a staggering pace. The summer box office numbers so far have been unimpressive, to say the least. This doesn’t mean people aren’t seeing films released in the last month or so, but they aren’t going enough, and those in the know think that will change with Finding Dory.

The long-awaited sequel to Finding Nemo stars the rather forgetful blue fish, Dory, who is voiced by Ellen DeGeneres. According to the Los Angeles Times, Finding Dory is set to gross as much as $120 million in ticket sales in the United States and Canada through the weekend. Not only does that number mean Finding Dory is going to boost summer box office sales big time, but it would also be the biggest opening weekend for a Pixar film.

Make sure you stay in your seat until @findingdory’s credits are over for an extra scene! #FindingDory pic.twitter.com/Be22hi7fff

— ComingSoon.net (@comingsoonnet) June 15, 2016

A $120 million opening would be much higher than other Pixar films with Toy Story 3 being the closest opening weekend with $110 million back in 2010. Even if Finding Dory doesn’t hit the number market analysts are projecting, Disney believes it will very easily top the $100 million mark. Finding Dory is going to be benefiting from a dearth of films that are drawing crowds into the theaters so far.

Movies like Warcraft and Neighbors 2 were launched to varying degrees of hype, but both films are falling well short of what their studios had hoped they would be able to bring in. So far this year, summer ticket sales are down a whopping 22 percent from the same time a year ago. Finding Dory is also being counted on to knock down the fear that audiences are tiring of sequels. This fear is fueled by the lackluster launches of films like Alice Through the Looking Glass, X-Men: Apocalypse and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows.

Of course, none of those films were met with anything that could be considered a positive critical review and that alone might have kept people from going to see them. On the other hand, even sequels like Captain America: Civil War, which received good reviews, has not raked in the kind of money its studio was hoping for when it opened. Now, Pixar hopes Finding Dory can follow suit and build on successes of the most recent sequels to open in the U.S. and Canada.

The Conjuring 2 opened last weekend to a strong $40 million. That could mean as long as a movie is one fans are looking forward to, and the ground hasn’t already been plowed numerous times, films like Finding Dory could find big success. The reviews for Finding Dory have also been overwhelmingly positive since the critics were able to get their hands on it, which will almost assuredly help.

Considering Finding Nemo launched more than 13 years ago, those who want to see the continuation in the form of Dory are going to be anxious to finally flock to the theaters. The really interesting tidbit will be to see just how badly Finding Dory beats out the other films still in the theaters. Other studios are largely staying away from the animated film’s release. Kevin Hart’s Central Intelligence is the only other new film going into wide release this weekend.

Finally, market analysts are pointing to the financial success of Finding Nemo as a reason Finding Dory is going to rake in big money. Released back in 2003, Finding Nemo had a $70 million opening weekend, and it raked in $380 million in the United States overall and $936 million worldwide. Pixar and the movie industry, in general, are looking for Finding Dory to top that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y19fAZrwJ88

[Photo by Chris Pizzello/AP Images]