Weekend Box Office: Independence Day Doesn't Resurge
by EG
It wasn't at all clear heading into the weekend whether Independence Day: Resurgence could reignite the excitement that its predecessor generated 20 years ago. By the end of the weekend, it was clear that there would be no reignition of excitement; the sci-fi sequel failed to live up even to observers' modest expectations.
Independence Day took in an estimated $41.6 million for the weekend, significantly lower than the $50 to $75 million forecast before the beginning of the weekend. That wasn't nearly enough to earn the top spot for the week; first-place went once again to Finding Dory, which took in $73 million in its second weekend of release.
Another of the week's new releases, The Shallows, did perform better than predicted, though. The shark-vs-surfer thriller pulled in $16.7 million and secured fourth place behind Central Intelligence, a hold-over from last week.
The week's third new release, Free State of Jones, earned a weak $7.7 million and took fifth place. The final new release of the week, The Neon Demon, earned just $607, 000 and slipped into 15th place.