Releasing after almost 13 years from its prequel and made with almost double budget, Finding Dory has surpassed the opening weekend box office collection of animated films all time in USA. Released on 17 June across major countries, Finding Dory has managed to beat Shrek The Third’s opening box office collection which grossed $121.6 million in 2007, whereas Finding Dory earned $136.2 million solely in North America.
Seems like finding one’s parents proved beneficial not just for the amnesic Dory but also for Disney Pixar, the studio behind Finding Dory movie. Made with a budget of $200 million, the film has managed to garner $186.2 million worldwide. Its prequel Finding Nemo that sailed in the theatres on May, 2003 was made on a mere budget of $94 million and earned $70.2 million in its opening weekend and went on to garner a worldwide revenue of $936.7 million in 2003.
The previous record for a Pixar animated opening belonged to Toy Story 3, which opened to $110 million and went on to gross $415 million in 2010. From its Thursday night preview itself, Finding Dory hauled $9.2 million (Minions had earned $6.2 million) and went on to collect $55.2 million on Friday night in USA.
Whereas in the Indian market, on Friday, Finding Dory earned $0.2 million (Rs 1.42 crores) that surged in the weekend; on Saturday $0.4 million (Rs 2.75 crores) whereas on Sunday it increased to $0.47 million (Rs 3.18 crores). Thus the opening box office collection in India totalled up to $1.08 million (Rs 7.35 crores).
The Ellen DeGeneres (Dory) starrer film bagged $50 million overseas from 29 international markets, including a Pixar-best $17.5 million in China and $7.6 million in Australia. By making such a gigantic splash in the opening weekend itself, we can surely expect Finding Dory to break more box office records because of its appeal to the all age audiences.
