We’re not saying that back in April 2013 when daytime talk show host Ellen DeGeneres announced Finding Dory would hit theaters two years later we marked it on our calendars, but what we are saying is that fans who waited 13 years after the Finding Nemo original, supported the sequel in a record breaking way.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the lovable yet forgetful blue fish Dory, voiced by DeGeneres, made a huge splash at the box office bringing in $136.2 million from 4,305 theaters over the weekend, making it the largest domestic animated debut.
Overseas, Finding Dory put up some big numbers as well, grossing $186.2 million. Kevin Hart and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s Central Intelligence performed well. The comedic action flick earned $34.5 coming in at a distant second.
The underwater tale centers around Dory–who suffers from short term memory loss–trying to find her parents whom she lost years ago. With the help of her friends Marlin and of course Nemo, Dory meets a slew of new underwater creatures including—a septapus named Hank played by Ed O’Neil and two territorial walrus’ played by The Wire alums Dominic West (McNulty) and Idris Elba– as she tries to locate her mom and dad.