‘The Jungle Book’ Rules Over the Weekend With Massive $103.6 Million Box Office

Disney’s live-action remake roared past the competition, leaving the “Barbershop” sequel, others in its wake.

The Jungle Book
Disney

“The Jungle Book” earned an estimated $103.6 million in its opening weekend, soaring past expert-projected figures to become the third largest opening of the year. It fell just behind “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice,” which gained $166 million upon opening, and also “Deadpool,” which earned $132.4 million during its first weekend in theaters.

Disney’s new live-action family film, directed by Jon Favreau, opened in 4,028 theaters and earned an A from CinemaScore audiences as well as a 95 percent Rotten Tomatoes score. It counts as the second biggest April opening ever, behind Universal’s massive “Furious 7” hit, which debuted with a $147.2 million weekend. According to ComScore metrics, “Jungle Book” is the fifth biggest PG-rated debut on record.

Disney’s adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s tales, also a remake of its 1967 animated classic, dramatically overshadowed MGM-New Line’s sequel comedy “Barbershop: The Next Cut,” which came in second with a $20.2 million opening weekend. The third in the “Barbershop” series, starring Ice Cube and Cedric the Entertainer, opened in 2,662 locations and earned just more than its expected $20 million take — not bad for a movie that was said to have been made for less than $20 million.

Universal’s Melissa McCarthy comedy “The Boss” held third position with a $10.2 million second weekend, earning a cumulative $40.4 million. It landed ahead of Warner Brothers tentpole “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,” which added $9 million to its total $311.3 million domestic take. In its seventh consecutive weekend, Disney’s “Zootopia” proved that it’s still making money, coming in fifth with $8.2 million. That puts its domestic total at $307.5 million.

Lionsgate’s R-rated action crime drama “Criminal,” starring Kevin Costner, had a disappointing sixth-place debut, bringing in $5.85 million from 2,683 theaters.

“The Jungle Book” surpassed the opening weekends of other Disney live-action films based on animated classics: “Maleficent,” which earned $69.9 million, and “Cinderella,” which garnered a first-weekend total of $67.9 million. However, “Jungle Book” didn’t quite beat the weekend opening of 2010’s “Alice in Wonderland,” which kicked off with a whopping $116.1 million weekend.

Its massive $103.6 million opening pushed the overall domestic box office up 8.5 percent from the same weekend last year. “The Jungle Book” earned $10.4 million in IMAX theaters, domestically, representing the best-ever April opening weekend for a Disney-branded release on the big-screen format. The live-action film also generated approximately 43 percent of its domestic gross on 3D screens, RealD 3D accounting for an estimated $31 million of its weekend box office figures.

Disney is clearly on a roll, says IMAX president Greg Foster. “When you attach a film to something that works, the swirl keeps going,” he told TheWrap, citing “Jungle Book” trailers that ran ahead of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” in theaters. “There’s no doubt Universal had it last year, and no doubt Disney has it this year,” he added.

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