'The Jungle Book' Tops 'Keanu' and 'Mother's Day' at the Box Office

By Pamela McClintock, The Hollywood Reporter

There’s no slowing The Jungle Book.

In its third weekend, the movie continued to exceed expectations, grossing $42.4 million in North America to crush new offerings Mother’s Day and R-rated feline comedy, Keanu. Heading into the frame, most thought Jungle Book would earn around $35 million, but numbers kept being revised upwards Saturday and Sunday.

Jungle Book, which fell a scant 30 percent domestically, has now earned $684.8 million globally. Between the Jon Favreau-directed movie and Captain America: Civil War, which is opening a week early in numerous foreign markets, Disney achieved world domination. Civil War dazzled with a $202.2 million debut, just behind the start of Avengers: Age of Ultron.

Otherwise, it was a ho-hum weekend in North America as three new nationwide offerings all opened below $10 million.

Related: ‘Mother’s Day’: Read Critics’ (Mostly Scathing) Reviews

Keanu — marking the first time that Key & Peele stars, Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele, have appeared together on the big screen — fared the best, grossing an estimated $9.45 million to all but tie with Universal’s The Hunstman Winter’s War for No. 2. The official order will be revealed Monday when final numbers are tallied.

Huntsman remains a major disappointment, however, finishing Sunday with a domestic total of $34 million and foreign cume of $97 million.

Keanu, costing a modest $15 million to make, revolves around two buddies who pretend to be gangsters and join the criminal underworld when a drug dealer kidnaps their kitten. Peter Atencio-helmed Keanu, which debuted as a work-in-progress at the South by Southwest Film Festival in April, a boasts a 77 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Directed by Garry Marshall, Mother’s Day — starring Jennifer Aniston, Julia Roberts, Jason Sudeikis and Kate Hudson — wilted in is debut with $8.3 million. That compares to $56.3 million for Marshall’s holiday ensemble film, Valentine’s Day, which likewise starred Julia Roberts, and $13 million launch for New Year’s Eve.

Related: 'Keanu’ Kitten: How a Cat in a Hat Was Trained to Act for Key and Peele’s Movie

Mother’s Day was ravaged by critics, not helping matters for the filmmakers and distributor Open Road Films. The story features intertwining stories, and centers on three generations of women in the week leading up to Mother’s Day. (This year, the real-life holiday isn’t until May 8).

Keanu wasn’t the only feline-themed movie meowing at the multiplex: Animated family film Ratchet & Clank, based on the video game series about a wild cat who befriends a robot, also debuted. The film, from Focus Features/Gramercy, placed No. 7 with $4.8 million.

Ratchet, directed by Jericca Cleland and Kevin Munroe, follows the anthropomorphic character Ratchet and his robot sidekick as they attempt to save the universe. Paul Giamatti, John Goodman, Bella Thorne, Rosario Dawson and Sylvester Stallone lead the voice cast.

Jungle Book no doubt made life tough for others. Plus, none of the three new offerings were particularly wowing audiences; Keanu and Ratchet each received a B CinemaScore, while Mother’s Day earned a B+.

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