DreamWorks Animation and distribution partner 20th Century Fox’s ‘The Boss Baby’ brings in $50.2 million from 3,773 theaters for its debut, the ninth largest opening for a DWA title.
In a close race, DreamWorks Animation and distribution partner 20th Century Fox’s The Boss Baby narrowly beat Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, delivering a first-place finish this weekend as it vastly over-performed industry expectations.
Bringing in $50.2 million from 3,773 theaters for its debut, The Boss Baby currently stands as the ninth largest opening for a DreamWorks Animation title, according to a report by Box Office Mojo. The opening is just a few million short of the $52.1 million debut for Home, which opened over the same weekend in 2015 before it went on to gross more than $175 million domestically and $386 million worldwide.
The Boss Baby opened in five international markets last weekend for a total of $17.5 million; this weekend it added 37 markets and brought in $36.2 million, bringing its international tally to $60.9 million. This includes DWA’s best opening ever in Mexico with $6.5 million along with a $5.9 million opening in Russia and $5.3 million in France. There are still an additional 44 international markets where The Boss Baby has yet to be released.
Finishing in second place is Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, which made $47.5 million for a domestic total of $395.5 million in its first 17 days in release. Overseas, Beauty and the Beast added an additional $66.5 million from 55 markets this weekend, which brings the film’s worldwide total to more than $875 million.
Meanwhile, Paramount’s Ghost in the Shell performed well below expectations, coming in third place at the domestic box office with $19 million from 3,440 theaters. For comparison, Scarlett Johansson’s previous solo action film, Lucy, directed by Luc Besson, debuted to $43.8 million in 2014.
Internationally, Ghost in the Shell delivered $40.1 million from 50 international markets, led by Russia where it finished in second place with $5.3 million. The film opened in third place in South Korea with $4.2 million; $3.1 million in France; $2.8 million in the U.K.; $2 million in Germany; $2.1 million in Mexico; $1.9 million in Brazil; $1.8 million in Australia; $1.3 million in Spain, and $1.2 million in Hong Kong. Ghost in the Shell opens this weekend in Japan and China.
Lionsgate’s Power Rangers finished the box office race in fourth place with $14.5 million, pushing its domestic total to $64.8 million. Internationally, the film made $8.1 million from 70 markets for a new total of just south of $100 million, with openings in France, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Finland and Sweden to come next week followed by a late April release in South Korea, May release in China, and a July release in Japan.
Rounding out the top five is Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures’ Kong: Skull Island, which delivered $8.8 million at the domestic box office for a new North American total of $147.8 million. With a total of $329.5 million internationally, Kong: Skull Island is rapidly approaching the $500 million mark globally.
Twentieth Century Fox’s Logan finished in sixth place with $6.2 million for a new domestic total of $211.8 million.
Formerly Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network, Jennifer Wolfe has worked in the Media & Entertainment industry as a writer and PR professional since 2003.
