Box office battle: March 31, 2017

A pair of new releases take aim at Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” starring Emma Watson.

Can either take over the top spot?

The short answer is no. “Beauty and the Beast” fell 48 percent in its second weekend. That mark is a pretty strong hold considering the size of its opening weekend.

A similar drop this weekend will put it in the $45 to 50 million range.

“The Boss Baby” will be the top newcomer in second. The animated film may not live up to past animated hits, including last year’s “Home” or even “The Croods” and may only get to $30 to 35 million.

Opening in third will be “Ghost in the Shell” with Scarlett Johansson. Pre-release tracking had it around the likes of “The Maze Runner” so expect this one to earn around $30 million.

New “Justice League” trailer is here

Here is the latest trailer for “Justice League”.

The film brings together Batman (Ben Affleck), Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), Aquaman (Jason Momoa), the Flash (Ezra Miller) and Cyborg (Ray Fisher).

“Mulan” remake may not be a musical

With “Beauty and the Beast” setting the box office on fire, another Disney classic is getting the live action treatment. “Mulan” is scheduled to hit theaters in 2018 and director Niki Caro (“Whale Rider”) had some news to share.

In an interview with Moviefone, current plans for the film contain no songs. That’s right, “Mulan” may not be a musical. That means it may be making a man out of audiences in a different way than people remember.

 

Is this what the new Matrix film will focus on?

With news that Warner Bros. wants to revisit “The Matrix” hitting recently, speculation has run wild about what a new film would focus on.

Birth.Movies.Death. is reporting that a new Matrix film would center around a young Morpheus, with Michael B. Jordan starring.

Lawrence Fishburne played Morpheus in the original trilogy.

If true, it looks as though WB wants to tell more stories in the film’s universe instead of a straight reboot.

Box office results: March 19

“Beauty and the Beast” was always going to open big. How much did it make?

Estimates place the remake of the Disney classic earning $170 million. That would be enough to top the $166 million earned by “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice” for a new March record and is the seventh-biggest opening weekend ever.

“Beauty and the Beast” stars Emma Watson, Luke Evans and Josh Gad.

“Kong: Skull Island” dropped to second, earning $28.9 million. That’s a decent hold for the monster film, while “Logan” took third with $17.5 million.

“Beauty and the Beast” has big opening day

“Beauty and the Beast” earned a massive $63.78 million on Friday. That is a notch below “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice” and the $81.5 million it earned on its opening Friday, but comic book films are almost always more front loaded.

The Disney film starring Emma Watson (“Harry Potter”) should wind up around $160-170 million for the weekend.

 

Box office battle: March 17, 2017

The tale as old as time returns to theaters. There’s no question “Beauty and the Beast” will open above $100 million. How high will it soar?

Disney has had a lot of success bringing animated classics to live action. “Maleficent,” “Cinderella,” and “The Jungle Book” all enjoyed strong box office numbers but “Beauty and the Beast” stands in a class above them.

The animated film was released in 1991, meaning fans of that film are old enough to have nostalgia set in and many may have children of their own to bring. “Beauty and the Beast” stands tall as one of those revered films with music that people still sing today.

All that means anticipation is sky high. The movie earned $16.7 million during preview showings, much higher than other recent family hits like “Finding Dory” ($9.2 million). This film will light the box office on fire. Can it catch “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice” and its $166 million March record? It’ll be close.

Opening weekend prediction: $160-170 million.