She might have been facing big competition from the Master Of Disaster better known as Roland Emmerich, but Pixar's plucky, forgetful blue tang still triumphed at the American box office as Finding Dory remained dominant, dropping just 45% for a $73.2 million second weekend haul, according to studio estimates.
Dory is already the fifth most successful Pixar film, and should surpass Up's takings this week. And that's just in the States – worldwide, the film still has several big launches ahead of it, but it has already made $110.3 million overseas for a $396.8 million global total in just a couple of weeks.
Independence Day: Resurgence, on the other hand, didn't match the phenomenon that was the original 1996 release, opening below expectations with $41.6 million. By comparison, the first film took in $50 million in 1990s dollars, and only had to return a profit on a $75 million budget. Resurgence cost more than $165 million (not including a big marketing push) and so far has made $143 million worldwide. We'll have to see if overseas audiences can really offer the help it'll need, as US moviegoers seem to be less than impressed.
In third place was action comedy Central Intelligence, dropping from second but only losing 48% for an $18.3 million second weekend. Blake Lively shark thriller The Shallows beat expectations, with the relatively low budget pic earning $16.7 million with overseas openings still to come. Looks like the Jaws formula can work if you find the right combination of elements. In fifth we find fellow new arrival Free State Of Jones, with Matthew McConaughey's period drama opening quieter than fledgling studio STX Entertainment might have hoped on $7.77 million. Mixed to negative reviews didn't help this one.
Sixth was The Conjuring 2, down a few places but still doing well, taking in $7.70 million with a worldwide total of $204.4 million to date. Fellow sequel Now You See Me 2 is not faring as well, earning $5.6 million at seventh this weekend for a $52 million US total and $159.7 million globally. X-Men: Apocalypse continues to sink down the charts, adding $2.47 million in eighth place , while Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out Of The Shadows fell to ninth and $2.40 million. Aside from a few notable exceptions (see the very top of the page), this has not been a good summer for sequels, which is also borne out by Alice Through The Looking Glass, adding 2.1 million this weekend at 10th for a hair under $249 million globally, a far cry from the billion dollar plus earnings of Wonderland.