Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele‘s kitten comedy, “Keanu,” could not claw its way into the hearts of moviegoers, bringing in a weaker-than-expected $9.4 million, as “The Jungle Book” reigned at No. 1 for a third straight weekend with a $42.4 million gross.
The Warner Bros. comedy, about two friends who infiltrate a violent Los Angeles street gang to take back their kidnapped kitten, was in a virtual dead heat for second place with Universal’s “The Huntsman: Winter’s War,” which beat “Keanu” by little more than $400,000 in its second week of release.
For “Keanu,” the box office result is significantly lower than the $15 million projections that were set last week by analysts who spoke with TheWrap. Nonetheless, it was in line the studio’s $10 million expectations. The film also has a respectable 75 percent Rotten Tomatoes score, which was likely not enough to push the title into must-see territory. In the scheme of things, the movie was made for just $15 million and is easily on track to make that back.
Meanwhile, Open Road’s star-studded ensemble romantic comedy “Mother’s Day” was the weekend’s biggest bomb, coming in at No. 4 with $8.3 million. Starring Kate Hudson, Julia Roberts, Jennifer Aniston and Jason Sudeikis, the familiar, holiday-themed Garry Marshall film was more than likely hurt by poor reviews, with reports setting its production budget somewhere in the realm of $50 million.
And “Barbershop: The Next Cut” from Warner Bros. rounded out the top five with $6.1 million in its third weekend.
With characters voiced by Sylvester Stallone, John Goodman and Paul Giamatti, Focus Features animated movie, “Ratchet & Clank,” debuted at No. 7 with $4.8 million. It has a poor 19 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
A24’s horror movie “Green Room” brought in $1.4 million as it expanded into 470 theaters.
At the specialty box office, IFC’s “The Man Who Knew Infinity” got $88,134 as it opened in six theaters, a decent $14,689 average, while the Starz drama, “The Family Fang,” with Jason Bateman and Nicole Kidman, nabbed $15,285 in one theater.
The Top Five:
1. “The Jungle Book” (Disney) — $42.4 million in Week 3 ($252.1 million total)
2. “The Huntsman: Winter’s War” (Universal) — $9.4 million in Week 2 ($34 million total)
3. “Keanu” (Warner Bros.) — $9.4 million in Week 1 ($9.4 million total)
4. “Mother’s Day” (Open Road) — $8.3 million in Week 1 ($8.3 million total)
5. “Barbershop: The Next Cut” (Warner Bros.) — $6.1 million in Week 3 ($44.7 million total)