Monday Mixer: 'The Jungle Book' is still king

Posted Monday, April 25, 2016 at 11:25 AM Central
Last updated Monday, April 25, 2016 at 11:26 AM Central

by John Couture

Is it May yet?

This is the real fallout of a lousy Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Ahead of its late March release, most industry experts believed that the comic book film would be massive and run the gamut in April, thus rivals stayed away. As it turns out, the film dropped fast and left a black hole in the release calendar before Captain America: Civil War opens on May 6.

It seems that Disney was the only studio keen that their comic book rival might not be up to snuff. Of course, Disney has such a loaded release schedule that they didn't really have much of choice but to release The Jungle Book in April. Like most things lately for Disney, the "risk" has paid off quite well.

So, instead, we wait. If you're hoping for a miracle this weekend, I wouldn't hold your breath, but Keanu might be a little diamond in the rough. So, that should soften the blow a bit for Warner Bros.

Let's mix.

Box Office 411

Disney's The Jungle Book may sing about 'The Bare Necessities,' but they have plenty of cash to afford all of the finer things in life too. The live-action remake enjoyed another big weekend to stay on top of the box office to the tune of $60.8 million. The film has nearly grossed $200 million and should ease its way to $350 million or so.

The real test will be to see how much of a chunk Disney's other film, Captain America: Civil War, will take out of it in a couple of weeks. Personally, I think that The Jungle Book will still perform well given that it's more family friendly, hence the reason for the slight nudge to my prediction this week.

This week's big new release The Huntsman: Winter's War proved that perhaps you shouldn't make a Snow White film without Snow White. While $20 million openings aren't something that you can just scoff at, the sequel did almost a third less than its predecessor. Given the massive budget that Universal most certainly bestowed on the sequel, this misstep is even more magnified.

It's funny how much difference a year can make. Last year, Universal could do no wrong and enjoyed one of the best years ever for a studio, but this year is taking a different route. As it stands, The Huntsman: Winter's War will probably have a pretty big drop off this week and will struggle to make it to $65 million, less than half of the total of the original film.

Compadres and A Hologram for the King both performed admirably in limited release. The former cashed in on the lucrative film business south of the border while the latter played up the Tom Hanks card. If they expand their rollout and get above a thousand screens, then they might be a real threat to steal some unexpected business this weekend, but I don't believe either is considering expansion.

Quick Hitters

• Speaking of Captain America: Civil War, as part of the lead up for the release, a new viral video has hit the Net. Leslie Bibb's Christine Everhart returns for a look at the impact of superhero devastation. Everhart had some rather interesting encounters with Tony Stark in the first two Iron Man films, so it's nice to see Marvel continue that little Easter egg.

• Finally today, while Prince never fully realized his potential in film, Purple Rain was a massively influential film that also had huge repercussions in music. Prince was always involved tangentially in film and TV, including a memorable cameo on New Girl last season, so his unexpected passing last week reverberated across so many industries.

  He was truly a musical genius and his impact on creativity can not be overstated. This video of him crushing my favorite Beatles song made the rounds last week and I thought I'd share it with you.

Purple Mixer, Purple Mixer.