Disney won't relinquish control of the top spot, as their remake of The Jungle Book continued to have fantastic holding power. The film was off just 29% to $43.7 million, the sixth-biggest third weekend in history (behind The Force Awakens, Avatar, The Avengers, Jurassic World and Spider-Man). Averaging a fantastic $10,818 in its third frame, Jungle is clearly a blockbuster, perhaps even bigger than the 1967 original. In 17 days, Jungle is at a phenomenal $253.4 million, and is running far ahead of where Zootopia ($200.9 million) was at the end of its third weekend. Jungle will have some competition next weekend from fellow Disney release Captain America: Civil War, which is tracking for a possible record-smashing debut next weekend. Overseas, Jungle is also a smash, with almost $700 million worldwide in just 3 weeks (including a huge $130 million in China). With Japan and Korea yet to open, The Jungle Book is likely to pass the billion dollar milestone worldwide, a feat not many non-sequels reach.In a very distant (though narrowly ahead of the third place movie) second place is last weekend's major disappointment, The Huntsman: Winter's War. The prequel/sequel to Snow White and the Huntsman was down 51% to $9.6 million, for a very disappointing $34.2 million gross in 10 days. With Civil War around the corner, Huntsman may have a hard time getting above $50 million stateside. It has earned nearly $100 million overseas against a $115 million budget, but it won't be enough to cover Universal's marketing expenses.
All three new releases this weekend didn't make any real dent in the box office this weekend. Leading the charge as expected, was the film debut of comedy duo Key and Peele, Keanu. The kitten-centric R-rated comedy pulled in $9.5 million, for a mild $3,557 per-venue average. That is at the low-end of expectations, which ranged from $10 million to the high-teens millions based on buzz and very good critical reception (76% on Rotten Tomatoes). But, the last weekend of the Spring season usually is a very weak one, and I don't think this weekend being chosen was a sign of confidence in the picture, nor did it service the project well at all. It will benefit from little comedy-based competition in the next two weeks, but, it won't be remembered after a short time. Keanu only had a $15 million budget, however, so it might be able to turn a small profit by the time its' finished. The CinemaScore was a "B".
Meanwhile, in a close fourth was the latest holiday-inspired film from director Garry Marhsall, Mother's Day. After the huge hit Valentine's Day, and the not very successful New Year's Eve, Mother's Day didn't pull in much of an audience, earning $8.4 million from 3,035 locations, for a mediocre $2,758 per-venue average. That's far behind New Year's Eve's $13 million debut. The budget here was $25 million, and reviews were terrible (8% on Rotten Tomatoes despite a "B+" CinemaScore). The film may hold well with the titular holiday coming up this coming weekend, but it will likely fall fast after that.Barbershop: The Next Cut followed with a solid hold despite more competition. The PG-13 comedy was off 42% to $6.1 million, for a very solid $44.7 million gross in 17 days. Look for the critically-acclaimed threequel to find its way to a finish over $60 million. Zootopia remained in the mix in its ninth weekend. Disney's acclaimed latest animated blockbuster was off a scant 19% to $5.3 million, for a fabulous $323.8 million gross in 63 days. Zootopia ranks now as Disney Animation's third-biggest movie ever stateside behind The Lion King's $422 million lifetime gross and Frozen ($400 million).
The final new release was, as expected, a clunker. Video game adaptation Ratchet and Clank opened behind all expectations with $4.9 million, for a dismal $1,684 per-venue average. That's slightly ahead of Hoodwinked Too! from this same time in 2011, but that's not saying much. Reviews were bad (18% on Rotten Tomatoes), while the CinemaScore was a "B". Ratchet's younger audience may be too young for Civil War next weekend (though it will still be a major factor next weekend). It's next direct competition isn't until The Angry Birds Movie on May 20. The budget was only $20 million, however, so any loss distributor Focus Features has won't be much. Expectations for this were to earn in the high single-digits millions.The Boss followed with its best hold yet, off just 31% to $4.3 million, for a solid $56.1 million gross in 24 days. Melissa McCarthy's latest won't catch up with Tammy ($81 million), but it's still a decent hit against a $29 million budget. One week before Captain America comes to town, Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice had its strongest hold to date, off only 30% to $3.9 million, for a strong $325.2 million gross in six weeks of release. It's coming close to the end of its run overseas, with a worldwide finish expected around $875 million.
Rounding out the Top 10 in its third weekend was Kevin Costner's flop, Criminal, which fell 57% to $1.3 million. It has picked up a dismal $13.5 million gross in 17 days.
And that's it. Next weekend the summer movie season kicks off with what is expected to be a blockbuster, Disney/Marvel's Captain America: Civil War. Stay tuned next weekend for more.
