By Lindsey Bahr, Film Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) --"The Jungle Book" remained king of the box office in its second weekend in theaters, beating new opener "The Huntsman: Winter's War" by around $40 million, according to comScore estimates Sunday.
Disney's live-action/CG spectacle is proving to be a true all-audience success story. With a PG-rating and solid word of mouth, it fell only 41 percent in weekend two, earning $60.8 million and bumping its domestic total to $191.5 million in just 10 days in theaters.
The spectacular and somewhat unexpected hold of "The Jungle Book" overshadowed the debut of "The Huntsman: Winter's War," which, despite its high-wattage cast of Chris Hemsworth, Charlize Theron, Emily Blunt and Jessica Chastain, had a somewhat lackluster $20.1 million bow.
The movie cost $115 million to produce and is a follow-up to the 2012 fairy tale fantasy "Snow White and the Huntsman," this time focused on Hemsworth's character. The first film was budgeted at $170 million, earned $56.2 million in its debut and went on to gross $396.6 million worldwide.
There are a number of factors that may have contributed to the uninspiring performance of the sequel, one of which is the absence of original star Kristen Stewart, comScore senior analyst Paul Dergarabedian noted. "Snow White and the Huntsman" launched in June 2012 – right in between the releases of the final two "Twilight" films.
"She was a key reason for the opening of that first film," Dergarabedian said. "That was going to be a tough act to follow."
"The Huntsman" also failed to impress critics and is hovering around 17 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. Opening weekend audiences, however, gave the film a more promising B+ CinemaScore.
"I would have liked more people to go see ours, but I certainly wouldn't call it a flop either," said Nick Carpou, Universal's president of domestic distribution. "The final chapter of this one has not been written, but with a B+ CinemaScore and the audience appeal that it has, I think there's a chance we're going to play out a bit better than that word (flop) would indicate."
"Barbershop: The Next Cut" landed in third place with $10.8 million in its second weekend in theaters. "Zootopia" and "The Boss" rounded out the top five with $6.6 million and $6.1 million, respectively.
But this weekend, up 29.3 percent from last year, is all about "The Jungle Book." Dergarabedian noted that it could actually help jumpstart the summer movie season too. The year is already up 9.2 percent, and now the big "Jungle Book" audiences are being exposed to all of the trailers for the upcoming season that kicks off with the launch of "Captain America: Civil War" in the first week of May.
"Just like 'Furious 7' last year, 'The Jungle Book' is providing a great lead-in for a really big summer movie season," Dergarabedian said.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to comScore. Where available, the latest international numbers for Friday through Sunday are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. "The Jungle Book," $60.8 million ($96 million international).
2. "The Hunstman: Winter's War," $20.1 million ($32.1 million international).
3. "Barbershop: The Next Cut," $10.8 million.
4. "Zootopia," $6.6 million ($10.8 million international).
5. "The Boss," $6.1 million ($3.3 million international).
6. "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice," $5.5 million ($8.3 million international).
7. "Criminal," $3.1 million ($1 million international).
8. "My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2," $2.1 million ($730,000 international).
9. "Compadres," $1.4 million.
10. "A Hologram for the King," $1.2 million.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at international theaters (excluding the U.S. and Canada), according to comScore:
1."The Jungle Book," $96 million.
2."The Huntsman: Winter's War," $32.1 million.
3."Zootopia," $10.8 million.
4."Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice," $8.3 million.
5."Crew," $5 million.
6."Kung Fu Panda 3," $4.6 million.
7."The Boss," $3.3 million.
8."My New Sassy Girl," $2.8 million.
9."Eddie the Eagle," $2.7 million.
10."Eye in the Sky," $2 million.
First-Time Feature Directors Make Major Splash At AFI Fest, Generate Oscar Buzz
Two first-time feature directors who are generating Oscar buzz this awards season were front and center this past weekend at AFI Fest in Hollywood. Rachel Morrison, who made history as the first woman nominated for a Best Cinematography Oscar---on the strength of Mudbound in 2018--brought her feature directorial debut, The Fire Inside (Amazon MGM Studios), to the festival on Sunday (10/27), and shared insights into the film during a conversation session immediately following the screening. This came a day after William Goldenberg, an Oscar-winning editor for Argo in 2013, had his initial foray into feature directing, Unstoppable (Amazon MGM Studios), showcased at the AFI proceedings. He too spoke after the screening during a panel discussion. The Fire Inside--which made its world premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival--tells the story of Claressa “T-Rex” Shields (portrayed by Ryan Destiny), a Black boxer from Flint, Mich., who trained to become the first woman in U.S. history to win an Olympic Gold Medal in the sport. She achieved this feat--with the help of coach Jason Crutchfield (Brian Tyree Henry)--only to find that her victory at the Summer Games came with relatively little fanfare and no endorsement deals. So much for the hope that the historic accomplishment would be a ticket out of socioeconomic purgatory for Shields and her family. It seemed like yet another setback in a cycle of adversity throughout Shields’ life but she persevered, going on to win her second Gold Medal at the next Olympics and becoming a champion for gender equality and equitable pay for women in sports. Shields has served as a source of inspiration for woman athletes worldwide--as well as to the community of... Read More