Box office: 'Jungle Book' tops 'Keanu,' 'Mother's Day' with $42.4M
Walt Disney's The Jungle Book dominated the box office, winning the crown for the third weekend in a row with $42.4 million, according to studio estimates.
The PG-rated family film dispatched three new releases, including Key and Peele's cat comedy Keanu, Garry Marshall's ensemble movie Mother's Day and and the video game-inspired Ratchet & Clank.
The Jungle Book and its live-action retelling of Rudyard Kipling's classic stories now has collected $252 million domestically and $432 million overseas for a global total that exceeds $684 million.
SPOILERS: 'Jungle Book' director discusses that shocking screen death
"The Jungle Book has three wins over three weekends, taking on every newcomer. It's unexpected just how big a hit this has become and how it has had this kind of box office hold," says Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for comScore.com. "But it was helped by a weekend that was not strong for newcomers."
The Huntsman: Winter’s War took second place in its second weekend with $9.39 million. This fantasy follow-up to 2012's Snow White & the Huntsman has earned $34 million after 10 days in theaters.
Keanu, the feature teaming comics Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele, fell into third by a cat's nose with $9.35 million for its debut.
The R-rated comedy about the duo trying to recover a beloved cat named Keanu received 75% positive critical ratings on the aggregate review site RottenTomatoes.com and a flat B grade from audiences on CinemaScore.
Review: No need to remember 'Mother's Day'
Mother's Day, which stars Julia Roberts, Jennifer Aniston and Kate Hudson each in mother-themed stories, took fourth place with $8.3 million.
The third holiday-themed feature from director Marshall, following 2010's Valentine's Day and 2011's New Year's Eve, was reviled by critics; just 8% liked it at Rotten Tomatoes. Audiences gave the comedy a B-plus on the weekend before the Mother's Day holiday.
'Mother's Day' is all about family for director Garry Marshall
The PG-13 comedy Barbershop: The Next Cut rounded out the top five with $6.1 million in its third weekend ($44.7 million total).
The weekend's other newcomer, Ratchet & Clank, ended up seventh with $4.8 million.
Sylvester Stallone brought star voice power to the animated movie, but it was a critical dud, scoring a lowly 19% on Rotten Tomatoes. Audiences gave it a B on CinemaScore.
Exhibitor Relations analyst Jeff Bock says the poor performance of the three new films showed how slow the box office can be at the end of April.
"There's no way around it: These three films flopped in their opening weekends," Bock says.
But next weekend's opening of Captain America: Civil War will prove the slowdown is just temporary, Bock says. The Disney/Marvel film launched internationally this weekend with $200 million.
"Next weekend, it's all about Captain America," he says. "It's going to really kick off the summer."
Final weekend numbers are expected Monday.