Making a splash! Ellen DeGeneres' Finding Dory is set to become the highest grossing Pixar movie of all time
It could be the sequel that finally saves the summer box office.
For experts have proclaimed that Finding Dory is well on track to become animation powerhouse Pixar's biggest hit to date.
The Ellen DeGeneres led film, which is a follow-up to the 2003 smash aquatic adventure Finding Nemo, is believed to be in line to have to an eye-popping opening of between $115 million and $120 million.
Hooking an audience: Finding Dory is expected to become animation powerhouse Pixar's biggest hit to date
BoxOffice.com. senior box office analyst Shawn Robbins told Variety: 'We’re pretty bullish on it. It’s way ahead of pace in terms of where other Pixar releases have been.
'Given Finding Nemo’s status as a modern classic, it’s going to be huge.'
It is believed it will ultimately end up raking in even more cash than the mega hit Toy Story 3, which raked in an amazing $1.06 billion worldwide.
Star power: Daytime chat show doyen Ellen DeGeneres heads up the cast
Pixar chiefs will certainly be relieved if the hype becomes reality, for its last release, last year's lacklustre The Good Dinosaur, became the first of the company's films to lose money after it pulled in a feeble $331.9 million.
Finding Dory takes place six months after Nemo, which itself made $936.7 million at cinemas, and is set off the coast of California.
The forgetful character, who was the breakout character from the first film, gioes on an adventure with her friends as she bids to reunite with her long-lost family.
Woody won't be pleased: Toy Story 3 could lose the status as Pixar's biggest ever hit
If the picture does perform to expectations it will be another highlight in what has been a strong year for parent company Disney.
It has already made more than $4 billion in global ticket sales in record time, with Captain America: Civil War, Zootopia and The Jungle Book among the top four hjigest grossing movies of the year.
Cinema owners will also be hoping it lives up to the hype, as summer box office returns are down around 15 per cent, with under-performing franchise sequels such as X-Men: Apocalypse, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 and Alice Through the Looking Glass among the offenders.
Netting a fortune: The original Finding Nemo made $936.7 million at cinemas
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