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Box office: Tim Burton's Dumbo flaps its massive ears to No. 1 spot with underwhelming $45 million
Tim Burton's live-action Dumbo remake for Disney will fly to the top of the box office during its first weekend in theaters with $45 million domestically from 4,259 theaters.
This is somewhat of a letdown for early projections, which expected the featured (based on the 1941 animated original) to pass $50 million during its debut weekend. Nevertheless, the disappointment could have something to do with the initial reviews, which weren't exactly glowing.
Written by Ehren Kruger (Ghost in the Shell), the film is set after WWI, taking place at a the small-time Medici Circus owned by Max Medici (Danny DeVito). Max is appalled when his elephant gives birth to a calf with humongous ears. His anger turns to joy when he learns that the baby, named Dumbo, can use his ears to fly around the ring. This draws the attention of the greedy business tycoon, V. A. Vandevere (Michael Keaton), who wants to exploit the animal for profit.
Colin Farrell (Fantastic Beasts), Eva Green (Penny Dreadful), and Alan Arkin (The Kominsky Method) make up the rest of the A-list ensemble cast, but one of the movie's main draws is Burton (Alice in Wonderland) reuniting with his two Batman/Batman Returns collaborators, DeVito and Keaton.
Dumbo is only the first of three live-action reimagining to be released by the House of Mouse this year. The next one to follow will be Guy Ritchie's Aladdin on May 24, and then Jon Favreau's photorealistic Lion King on June 19. In addition, remakes of Mulan, Lady and the Tramp, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and Lilo & Stitch are all coming down the family-friendly pipeline at some point in the future.
Jordan Peele's Us, now in its second weekend, is splitting off into second place with $33 million from 3,743 domestic theaters. The film, which broke a major horror record last weekend, dropped 53% in its financial intake; the North American total for the movie currently stands at $128.2 million.
Captain Marvel, now four weeks in theaters, nabbed the No. 3 title with an added $20 million, fast-approaching the $1 billion-mark at the international box office.
Another holdover, How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World soared past $500 million at the global box office during its sixth weekend in theaters.
(via Variety & The Hollywood Reporter)
