Disney’s The Jungle Book made approximately $103.5 million last weekend at the box office, which exceeded everyone’s expectations. The film took movie theaters by storm and finished first in last weekend’s box office revenue. It also ranked among only two other films making over $100 million this year to date. The family-friendly flick was the second-best April premiere of all time, and it has earned over $300 million as of Apr. 19.
The Jungle Book is a remake of the original 1967 animated feature. After many positive reviews, strong marketing and cutting edge filming technology, those who remember the original went to the movies to share the tale with a new generation of viewers.
The all-star cast includes Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley, Lupita Nyong’o, Scarlett Johanson, Christopher Walker and Idris Elba to name a few. The young actor Neel Sethi landed his breakout role as Mowgli.
Variety gave Director Jon Favreau kudos for “never losing sight of the fact that he’s making an adventure story for children.”
Matt Zoller Seitz, the Editor-in-Chief for RogerEbert.com wrote, “I saw the newest Disney version of The Jungle Book in the company of my enthralled 12-year-old son, and there were moments when I envied him—but not too many, because the film is so surefooted in its effects, so precise and simple in its characterizations, and so clear about what it’s trying to say about the relationship between humanity and nature, that it made me feel about his age again, too. Maybe younger.”
With few negative critics to date, The Jungle Book is expected to continue to smash records at the box office both in the U.S. and internationally.