Tarzan falls just shy of three-time domestic champ Finding Dory and its estimated $50.2 million four-day total, bringing the Pixar sequel’s North American total to around $380.5 million after just 18 days in release. Variety called it “the weekend’s biggest disaster” and one that, despite pretty OK reviews, was “overshadowed by” Finding Dory.
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The site also reports that Finding Dory is on pace to topple Toy Story 3 ($415 million) to become Pixar’s highest-grossing U.S. film ever.
Taking second place in a bit of a surprise “The Legend of Tarzan” from Warner Bros.
The Legend of Tarzan is set years since the man once known as Tarzan (Alexander Skarsgård) left the jungles of Africa behind for a gentrified life as John Clayton III, Lord Greystoke, with his beloved wife, Jane (Margot Robbie) at his side.
Second place went to The Legend of Tarzan which swung its way to a $45.5 million opening.
The horror sequel “The Purge: Election Year” opened solidly with $30.9 million, in line with previous “Purge” installments.
The Purge: Election Year opened in 3rd with $31.5 million, up from The Purge: Anarchy ($29.8 million), but down from The Purge ($34.1 million).
Little Dory continues her reign over the box office and has secured the top spot in the box office for the third week in a row.
“Dory” was forecast to collect $40.9 million over the first three days of the holiday, and $52.3 million over four days, according to analysts at Box Office Mojo.
Things looked bleak for Independence Day: Resurgence last weekend with a slow domestic opening, but foreign audiences have demonstrated a stronger interest this week, adding $177 million to the now $249 million world-wide total.
Appropriately, the top five for the Fourth of July weekend was rounded out by Independence Day: Resurgence, which earned $20.2 million for the four-day weekend.
Disney’s distribution chief Dave Hollis acknowledged the studio was disappointed with the results, but hopes that the film would get a lift in the coming weeks as families seek out entertainment options to keep children occupied during their summer vacations.
“The Legend of Tarzan” opened in 19 markets internationally, including Russian Federation and Korea, and made an estimated $7.1 million. The film brought in just $22.3 million thru Monday, falling $8 million short of early weekend projections.
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“It’s frustrating when there’s a disconnect between the critical response, the consumer response and ultimately the box office”. Over the longer 4-day frame The Purge: Election Year collected $36.1 million. That’s a solid return for a film that cost a mere $10 million to produce and another summer success for Blumhouse, the micro-budget purveyor of “Insidious” and “Paranormal Activity“.
