Disney’s new trend of remaking animated classics in (semi) live-action form appears to be paying off in spades. Fresh off stellar reviews, directorJon Favreau’s jaw-droppingThe Jungle Bookkicked off the weekend with a spectacular Friday box office, drawing $32.4 million which puts it on track for a three-day total in the range of $87 million to $90 million. Those are spectacular numbers for a movie with no big stars, but Favreau’s empathetic and thrilling take on this classic story came together spectacularly, and audiences are responding in kind with an A CinemaScore. Disney is so happy with the results that they’ve already entered talks with Favreau and screenwriterJustin Marksto return forThe Jungle Book 2, and the visual effects and cinematography (via the incomparableBill Pope) truly resulted in visuals the likes of which we’ve never seen before.The Jungle Bookis a home run all around, on track to perform better than the studio’s other adaptation successesCinderellaandMaleficent, and Disney is no doubt thrilled with these results.
Elsewhere, the comedy sequelBarbershop: The Next Cutis performing really well, earning $7 million on Friday for a weekend total around $19 million. The weekend’s other new release, the crime thrillerCriminal, on the other hand only managed to drudge up a paltry $2 million and should finish the weekend with a meager $5 million to $7 million.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, meanwhile, snagged $2.3 million on Friday to bring its domestic total to $304.6 million, which is enough to surpass the domestic total ofMan of Steelbut still fairly lacking when compared to the performance of similar blockbusters, especially only three weeks out from release. Indeed, it was beaten on Friday by theMelissa McCarthycomedyThe Boss, which unseatedBvSin its third weekend from the top spot and earned $3 million yesterday.
Rounding out the Top 5 for Friday is Disney’s animated juggernautZootopia, which added $2.1 million to its box office and brings its worldwide total to a staggering $866.6 million thus far. Throw in the stellar performance ofThe Jungle Bookboth domestically and abroad and the impending release ofCaptain America: Civil War, and Disney is sitting pretty at the start of the 2016 blockbuster movie season.
Look for a more extensive box office rundown on Sunday when full weekend estimates are in. For now, take a look at Friday’s Top 5 below.
Friday Box Office
Total Box Office
The Jungle Book
$32,411,000
Barbershop: The Next Cut
$7,040,000
$3,090,000
$33,271,910
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
$2,360,000
$304,661,730
$2,140,000
$301,383,756
