Weekend Box Office: 'Dumbo' Heads for Subdued $46M-$48M Debut
Elsewhere, the anti-abortion movie 'Unplanned' is overperforming, while 'The Beach Bum' marks the worst opening of Matthew McConaughey's career.
Dumbo is having trouble gaining altitude at the North American box office, where it grossed $15.3 million on Friday from 3,259 theaters for a projected debut of $46 million-$48 million, according to early returns.
Tim Burton's live-action update of the classic 1941 animated film about a baby elephant with magical ears had been expected to cross $50 million in its debut. The hope now is that family traffic will outpace modeling as Saturday unfolds.
Friday's gross includes $2.6 million in Thursday previews.
Dumbo will still easily win the weekend ahead of holdover Jordan Peel's Us, but marks the lowest start among Disney's high-profile, live-action updates, prompting some box office analysts to question whether there is a built-in fanbase for the nearly 80-year-old property.
Poor reviews also aren't helping, although audiences liked it far more, bestowing the film with an A- CinemaScore. In 2010, Burton and Disney's live-action Alice in Wonderland overcame a 51 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes to earn $1.02 billion at the global box office in 2010 (Dumbo's RT score is 52 percent).
Colin Farrell, Michael Keaton, Danny DeVito and Eva Green star in the movie, which tells the story of a crumbling circus whose troubles are compounded when a baby elephant is declared a laughingstock because of the pachyderm's abnormally large ears. But when the troupe discovers the animal can fly, the circus makes a comeback. Enter a persuasive entrepreneur with not-so-nice intentions.
Dumbo cost $170 million to produce before marketing, so it will need to do big business around the globe to end up in the black. It's opening day and date in virtually every major foreign market this weekend, including China.
Jordan Peele's Us continues to impress in its second weekend, grossing $10.2 million on Friday for a projected $33.6 million weekend, a decline of only 53 percent and putting the horror film's total at $128 million through Sunday.
Disney and Marvel Studios' Captain Marvel will follow at No. 3 in its fourth frame with a projected $20 million as the female-led superhero pic heads toward the $1 billion mark at the global box office.
New offering Unplanned, the R-rated, anti-abortion drama that faith-based distributor Pure Flix is releasing, is overperforming in its launch. The film earned $3 million from 1,059 theaters on Friday for a projected $6 million weekend, putting it in a close race with holdover Five Feet Apart for fourth place.
Unplanned tells the true story of Abby Johnson, who defected from Planned Parenthood to become a pro-life activist. The movie was partially financed by Michael Lindell, the multimillionaire founder of My Pillow, who is a born-again Christian and outspoken supporter of President Donald Trump.
The weekend's other new wide release, Harmony Korine's star-studded stoner comedy The Beach Bum, is getting beached in its debut. The stoner comedy grossed an estimated $650,000 on Friday from 1,015 cinemas for a projected $1.8 million opening — the worst of Matthew McConaughey's career following the dismal opening of Serenity ($4.4 million) in January. Zac Efron, Jonah Hill, Isla Fisher and Snoop Dogg also also star in the film, from Vice and Neon.
Beach Bum, which premiered at SXSW, is also battling a poor Rotten Tomato of 52 percent.
March 29, 1:30 p.m. Updated with revised weekend estimates.
March 3, 8:20 a.m. Updated with Friday grosses and revised weekend estimates.
