Robyn Beck / AFP
Disney’s new live-action film “Dumbo” took flight over the weekend but didn’t quite make the expected altitude, taking in an estimated $45 million in North American theatres, industry watcher Exhibitor Relations reported Sunday.
Analysts expected the movie, Tim Burton’s live-action remake of the 1941 classic about a small elephant with huge and magical ears, to take in at least $50 million in its opening three-day weekend, according to Variety. The film had a $170 million production budget.
With a cast including Colin Farrell, Michael Keaton, Eva Green and Danny DeVito, “Dumbo” may yet catch on overseas, where it has taken in $71 million. The last Burton/Disney live-action collaboration, “Alice in Wonderland,” earned $1.02 billion worldwide.
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“Dumbo” pushed last weekend’s box office leader, “Us,” down to second place but the Universal horror film still brought in a respectable $33.6 million. Written and directed by Jordan Peele, “Us” stars Lupita Nyong’o and Winston Duke as a couple frighteningly confronted by their doppelgangers.
In the third spot was another Disney film, “Captain Marvel,” which had North American ticket sales of $20.5 million, pushing its cumulative worldwide total to just under $1 billion. Oscar winner Brie Larson stars as a former fighter pilot with superpowers.
Lionsgate’s “Five Feet Apart,” featuring Haley Lu Richardson and Cole Sprouse as a pair of enamoured teens who must keep their distance as they deal with cystic fibrosis, came in fourth at $6.3 million.
Fifth place went to new release “Unplanned” from Christian production company Pure Flix, at $6.1 million — a shade over its $6 million production budget. Ashley Bratcher stars in the true story of a young Planned Parenthood employee who becomes an anti-abortion activist.
Rounding out the weekends top 10 were:
“Wonder Park” ($4.9 million)
“How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World” ($4.2 million)
“Hotel Mumbai” ($3.2 million)
“A Madea Family Funeral” ($2.7 million)
“The Beach Bum” ($1.8 million)
AFP