Tarzan Fizzles, Swings to a Loss

The Legend of Tarzan and The BFG were both dwarfed by Finding Dory over the July 4th weekend, as the Pixar sequel led the box office for the third straight weekend. According to studio estimates Sunday, Finding Dory earned $41.9 million in North America. Disney is forecasting a four-day holiday haul of about $50 million.

Of the three debuts, Tarzan came the closest to dethroning Dory with $38.1 million. While that total was better than expected, it's far from chest-thumping for a movie that cost $180 million to make. The horror sequel The Purge: Election Year opened solidly with $30.9 million, in line with previous Purge installments. The continued success of Dory, however, bit into the opening of Steven Spielberg's Roald Dahl adaption. The BFG debuted weakly with $19.6 million. (More box office stories.)