‘Dora’ Gets a Little Lost at the Box Office in Busy Movie Week

(Bloomberg) -- “Dora and the Lost City of Gold,” a live-action movie based on TV’s “Dora the Explorer” cartoons, got a little lost in its opening weekend against a slew of new pictures and strong holdovers like the latest “Fast & Furious” film and “The Lion King.” “Dora” landed in fourth place, ceding the box-office crown to last week’s top film, “Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw” from Comcast Corp.’s Universal division.

• Released by Viacom Inc.’s Paramount Pictures, “Dora” took in $17.4 million in North American theaters this weekend, researcher Comscore Inc. said Monday. Forecasts for the film, which cost $49 million to make, ranged from $20.5 million to $22 million. The movie, starring Isabela Moner, got an 81% positive rating at Rotten Tomatoes.

Key Insights

• Competition for weekend movie fans was especially fierce, with five new films opening in 1,200 or more locations. In addition, hits like “Lion King” from Walt Disney Co. are still going strong.

• Box office forecasters were divided on which film would emerge as No. 1. Box Office Pro predicted “Hobbs & Shaw” would lead with $29 million, followed by “Dora” at $22 million and “Lion King” at $20.8 million. Box Office Mojo had “Lion King” on top, followed by “Hobbs & Shaw” and “Dora.”
• An unexpectedly strong performance from “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark,” from Lions Gate Entertainment Corp., showed the enduring appetite for a good scare at the box office. The film took second place, bringing in $20.9 million instead of the $15.9 million Box Office Pro predicted.
• The crowded field made it tougher for the other new releases, including “The Art of Racing in the Rain” from Disney’s Fox division, “The Kitchen” from AT&T Inc.’s Warner Bros., and Bleecker Street Media’s “Brian Banks.”

Get More

• Click here for Box Office Pro’s long-range forecast
• See the top movies of 2019 here.

To contact the reporter on this story: Rob Golum in Los Angeles at rgolum@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Nick Turner at nturner7@bloomberg.net, Kevin Miller

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