Walt Disney Co.’s Pixar Animation came back swinging this weekend with “Incredibles 2,” leading the box office in a record-breaking debut for an animated film.
The sequel collected $180 million in theaters in the U.S. and Canada, industry researcher ComScore Inc. said in an email Sunday. Among other new releases, the buddy comedy “Tag” came in third place with $14.6 million and the remake of “Superfly” was seventh with $6.3 million.
“Incredibles 2” surpassed the $135 million animated-film record set by Pixar’s own “Finding Dory” in 2016. It met industry estimates that swelled as stellar reviews – 94 percent positive, according to Rottentomatoes.com – flowed in, drawing excited fans over the Father’s Day weekend.
The film’s success will be a boost to executives and animators at Disney who learned this month that John Lasseter, the chief creative officer of their animation businesses, was leaving the company for good in December. Lasseter, the creative force behind hits such as “Finding Nemo” and “Frozen,” had been on leave following complaints from colleagues of inappropriate touching and comments. Lasseter was an executive producer on “Incredibles 2.”
“Incredibles 2” has a chance to become Disney’s fourth film in seven months to surpass $600 million at the domestic box office, Gitesh Pandya, founder of BoxOfficeGuru.com, said on Twitter Saturday. The company’s other recent release, “Solo: A Star Wars Story,” has been a disappointment, collecting $9.08 million this weekend.
– From news service reports
Send questions/comments to the editors.
