Will ‘Finding Dory” break box office records for Disney and Pixar?

in Disney, Movies, Movies & TV, Pixar

Just a day after Disney revealed that “Zootopia” crossed the $1 billion mark globally at the box office, another juggernaut is set to be released with the arrival of “Finding Dory” on June 17.

According to Variety, box-office experts are predicting a huge opening weekend for the highly anticipated sequel to the 2003 Disney-Pixar classic “Finding Nemo”, which brings back director and writer Andrew Stanton as well as beloved characters such as Ellen DeGeneres (Dory) and Albert Brooks (Marlin) to tell the story of Dory’s search for her family.

“We’re pretty bullish on it,” Shawn Robbins, senior box office analyst with BoxOffice.com, told Variety. “It’s way ahead of pace in terms of where other Pixar releases have been. Given ‘Finding Nemo’s’ status as a modern classic, it’s going to be huge.”

Not only is there familiarity with the characters, but “Finding Dory” faces relatively little kid-friendly competition in the box office. “Angry Birds” has been in theaters for a few weeks now and “Alice Through the Looking Glass” and “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows” so far have had weak showings in the box office. Variety also points out that Disney’s next big release “The BFG”, directed by Steven Spielberg, won’t be out for another two weeks after “Finding Dory” launches.

“There’s a lot of anticipation,” said Erik Handler, an analyst with MKM Partners. “The trailers look cute. All the favorite characters are there. There isn’t much out there for kids. So I’m expecting big things.”

After losing money for the first time with “The Good Dinosaur” last year, Pixar will surely bounce back strongly with “Finding Dory” with analysts predicting a massive opening weekend in the neighborhood of $115-120 million.

Will you be there to watch “Finding Dory” when it opens in theaters on June 17?

in Disney, Movies, Movies & TV, Pixar

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