Weekend Wrap-Up: Jungle Sets 2016 Sophomore Record with $61.54 Million

April 26, 2016

The Huntsman: Winter's War

Both The Jungle Book and The Huntsman: Winter's War were a little weaker than predicted over the weekend. The Jungle Book was still able to earn the biggest sophomore weekend of 2016 at $61.54 million. For The Huntsman: Winter's War, it was a disappointing $19.45 million. Overall, the box office fell 28% to $128 million. However, this was still 32% more than the same weekend last year. Unfortunately, next weekend is going to be damn awful in the year-over-year comparison, because of a misalignment in the weekend. Year-to-date, 2016 has earned $3.37 million, putting it ahead of last year's pace by 8.5% or $260 million.

The Jungle Book had the third best opening of 2016, but the best sophomore stint with $61.54 million. This is close enough to Friday's predictions to be a victory. It also lifted its running tally to $192.21 million after just ten days of release. It will get to $200 million shortly and $300 million shouldn't be a hard task. However, Captain America: Civil War is just two weeks away, so The Jungle Book might see its theater count slashed when that happens. Amazing reviews and a more family-oriented target audience will help mitigate that, but it will still hurt.

The Huntsman: Winter's War showed that Kristen Stewart had better drawing power than most people gave her credit for, as it only managed $19.45 million during the weekend compared to $56.22 million earned by the original. The reviews were also much weaker than the first film's reviews were and the upcoming competition is greater. That said, it is performing much better internationally and that might save the film, or at least save some face.

Barbershop: The Next Cut was within a rounding error of expectations with $10.52 million over the weekend for a total of $35.72 million after two weeks of release. It's on its way to a domestic run of over $50 million, perhaps even $60 million. I think the studio will be happy with that.

Zootopia added $6.58 million to its running tally, which now sits at $316.40 million. It cut $1 million off of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice's lead, which may or may not be enough to climb over the super hero flick in the end. It will be something to keep our eyes on.

The Boss rounded out the top five with $6.23 million over the weekend for a total of $49.66 million after three weeks of release. At this pace, the film will top $60 million domestically, which would be more than enough to cover its entire production budget. It will just need to cover its advertising budget internationally and / or on the home market to break even. That seems very likely at this point.

Compadres was the best of the three select cities releases earning ninth place with $1.40 million in 368 theaters. Mixed reviews and an underserved market might lead to short legs, on the other hand. A Hologram for the King just missed the top ten with $1.14 million in 401 theaters. Its reviews are better, but its theater average is low enough that it will quickly fade away. Unfortunately, Elvis and Nixon bombed with just $466,000 in 381 theaters. Its reviews won't matter, because most theater owners will drop it as soon as they are contractually obligated.

Looking at the sophomore class, we find Criminal in seventh place with $3.12 million over the weekend for a ten-day total of $10.88 million. It only fell 46%, which isn't that bad, but its theater average is just $1,162, so its theater count is going to take a beating this weekend and next.

- Weekend Box Office

- The Huntsman: Winter's War comparisons
- Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice comparisons

Filed under: Weekend Wrap-up, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, The Huntsman: Winter’s War, The Jungle Book, A Hologram for the King, Elvis & Nixon, Zootopia, Criminal, The Boss, Barbershop: The Next Cut, Compadres, Kristen Stewart