Weekend Estimates: Jungle Book projected to top $100 million

April 17, 2016

The Jungle Book

2016 is shaping up to be just about the perfect year on all fronts for Disney. They started the year with Star Wars at the top of the box office; Zootopia far out-performed expectations; Captain America: Civil War, Alice Through the Looking Glass and Finding Dory position them perfectly for the Summer; and Doctor Strange and Star Wars: Rogue One are two of the most talked about movies coming at the end of the year. (Oh, and they’re slipping a long-awaited Steven Spielberg family-friendly film in the middle of all that.)

All-in-all, this could be a year of studio dominance the likes of which we haven’t seen since, well, last year, when Universal could do no wrong. Their incredible year really took flight at the beginning of April, when Furious 7 posted a monthly record $147 million opening weekend. The Jungle Book won’t hit those heights, but it will most likely be the second film to top $100 million in April, with Disney projecting a weekend of $103.57 million as of Sunday morning.

Other estimates have it coming in just a shade lower, and there’s a chance it won’t quite hit $100 million, but either way it’s a fantastic result for what was a fairly risky film for the studio. It’s not really clear that the world needed another Jungle Book movie, and incorporating the popular songs from Disney’s animated classic ran the risk of reminding people that there was another film they could have rented (or pulled off the shelf) instead of coming out to the theater. But Jon Favreau and team have pulled it off handsomely, according to both critics and filmgoers. Favreau previously launched the Marvel Cinematic Universe by successfully delivering Iron Man to the screen. This film cements his place in the already-crowded top tier of Disney’s creative talent.

In second place this weekend, Barbershop: The Next Cut will make a respectable $20.21 million on debut, per Warner Bros.. That’s right in line with the openings of Barbershop and Barbershop 2, as long as one doesn’t adjust for inflation. Adjusted for inflation, it’s somewhat behind the other two, but still decent enough that the film should be profitable.

Criminal is a bit of a bust though, earning just $5.85 million from 2,683 theaters this weekend for sixth place. That’s behind a couple of movies that are looking soft this weekend themselves. The Boss will be down 57% from its opening at $10.17 million and has picked up $40.35 million to date. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice will post $9 million, down 61% in its fourth weekend, to take it to $311.3 million in total.

In limited release, Green Room continues A24’s habit of posting good opening weekends for niche films with $91,000 from three locations. Sing Street is the other film to top $10,000 this weekend with $68,979 projected from five venues.

- Weekend estimates
- The Jungle Book comparisons
- Barbershop: The Next Cut comparisons
- Criminal comparisons
- The Boss comparisons
- Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice comparisons

Bruce Nash,

Filed under: Weekend Estimates, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Green Room, Zootopia, Criminal, The Boss, Barbershop: The Next Cut, Sing Street, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Jon Favreau, Steven Spielberg