"Captain America: Civil War" is longer the highest grossing domestic movie of 2016. That honor now goes to "Finding Dory," which debuted over a month ago.
Stellar Performance Of 'Finding Dory'
Pixar Animation Studios and Walt Disney Pictures' "Finding Dory" has earned $423 million in U.S. theaters, in contrast to the $406.2 million that "Captain America: Civil War" grossed. According to Entertainment Weekly, "Finding Dory" is one of only 24 films ever to gain $400 million in domestic theaters.
Headlined by Ellen DeGeneres, "Finding Dory" tells the story of the amnesiac, blue-tang fish Dory. With the help of her pals Marlin (Albert Brooks) and Nemo (Hayden Rolence), Dory will brave the ocean as she tries to find her missing parents.
Internationally, "Finding Dory" has already earned around $643 million despite not opening yet in the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, Mexico, and Japan. There's a possibility that the movie will surpass "Shrek 2," the highest-grossing animated film in the U.S. box office that grossed $441.2 million when it was released in 2004.
Newcomer "The Secret Life of Pets," meanwhile, is also making waves in the U.S. box office. Illumination Entertainment's offering, which stars Kevin Hart, Louis C.K., and Jenny Slate, has grossed $103.1 million during the first three days of its domestic release, Forbes noted.
"Finding Dory" would have to beat the worldwide record of Fox's "Deadpool," which grossed $781.6 million globally, Cinema Blend reported. Disney also announced that it has earned a whopping $5 billion at the global box office this weekend, thanks to its other top-earning movies: "Zootopia," "The Jungle Book," and the one that "Finding Dory" bested -- "Captain America: Civil War."
Pixar is now gearing up to release other animated films after the success of "Finding Dory." That list includes "Cars 3" on June 16, 2017, "Coco" on November 22, 2017, "Toy Story 4" on June 15, 2018, and "The Incredibles 2" on June 21, 2019, Entertainment Weekly listed. There are two still-untitled movies slated for release in 2020 as well.
'Finding Dory' Success Brings Hopes For Another 'Finding Nemo' Sequel
Andrew Stanton, the director of "Finding Nemo" and "Finding Dory," said the idea of another sequel isn't entirely out of the picture. According to the filmmaker's interview with Entertainment Weekly, "everything that was born of the first movie is wrapped up" and that "Finding Dory" is "the missing piece, emotionally, for the first movie."
Stanton believes that "Finding Dory" has the potential to tell other storylines given that the movie introduced new characters and expanded into new universes. However, the director and his team wouldn't want to create another follow-up if it feels forced; it has to appear "inevitable."
