Finding Dory, the sequel to the colossal hit Finding Nemo, emerged as a success in both the domestic and international markets.

The film earned over 328.93 million Yuan ($50 million) in 29 territories, reaching the No. 1 spot in the international box office.

Like Us on Facebook

Finding Dory's strong performance is attributed to positive reviews from critics and the affection of moviegoers to the first film, which won the Academy Award for Best Animated Film in 2004.

"It's amazing when you look at the longevity of this brand, the viability of it, and the unfettered enthusiasm pretty much everyone has for Pixar," ComScore movie analyst Paul Dergarabedian explained.

In China, the film handed Pixar its biggest debut, with 115.12 million Yuan ($17.5 million) in revenue, shattering the records of perennial number one title holder, Inside Out there.

 Landing the second spot was the New Line/Warner Bros' sequel, The Conjuring 2, which generated over 275.64 million Yuan ($41.9 million), passing the 657.86 million Yuan ($100 million)-mark 11 days after its premier.

In the third place is Warcraft, last week's number one, earning 271.04 million Yuan ($41.2 million) in the overseas market. The motion picture endured its biggest sales drop in China, but all in all, it earned over 1.31 billion Yuan ($200 million) in the Middle Kingdom over only 12 days. So far, the Universal total production has earned almost 2.6 billion Yuan ($377.6 million) in local and international receipts combined.

It took Pixar 13 years to make a follow up to Finding Nemo. The Andrew Stanton-helmed film drew over $528 million internationally, with a combined total of 5.7 billion Yuan ($868 million).

Finding Dory lends life to the rather sedentary North American box office, which has gone sluggish despite the release of high-profile movies like Alice Through the Looking Glass and Warcraft. The two movies fared poorly, while the X-Men: Apocalypse, the new sequel in the X-Men series, did not meet expectations.  

TagsFinding Dory, Warcraft, The Conjuring 2, Box Office