It’s ‘Beauty’ over ‘Power’ in this duel
In the battle of 1990s nostalgia, “Saban’s Power Rangers” was no match for Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast,” while Dax Shepard’s “CHIPS” was out of the money in seventh place.
“Beauty and the Beast,” the live-action remake starring “Harry Potter’s” Emma Watson and “Legion’s” Dan Stevens, took in an estimated $88.3 million in the U.S and Canada in its second week, meeting analyst expectations of $85 million to $90 million. After a staggering $175-million domestic debut last week — the largest ever for a March release — the film has brought in $317 million domestically. Its international take is $373 million. Such a performance comes despite some lukewarm reviews from critics who preferred the 1991 animated fairy tale.
Meanwhile, “Power Rangers” landed in second place with a $40.5-million debut, beating projections of $35 million in ticket sales. “We’re very, very pleased,” said David Spitz, the studio’s distribution chief. “It’s always nice when you come in over expectations.”
About five teenagers who must save the world from an ancient alien menace, “Saban’s Power Rangers” is a reboot of the 1993 TV phenom “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers,” which spawned an endless string of toys, follow-up seasons and a generation of kids who imitated the show’s karate moves.
The new picture features Bryan Cranston as mentor Zordon, Elizabeth Banks as extraterrestrial nemesis Rita Repulsa and an international cadre of relative newbies as the teen rangers, including Chinese actor Ludi Lin, YouTube star and local rapper Becky G. and British actress Naomi Scott.
Such a performance is a relatively solid start for a picture that cost $100 million to make, plus millions more in marketing. Certainly, the math of a “Power Rangers” reboot made plenty of sense on paper: Many of the once obsessed fans of the original 1990s series now have children of their own, and the movie uses “Transformers” style computer graphics to bring the characters to life — a sharp contrast from the unapologetically low-rent visual effects of the TV show.
But audiences and critics seem at odds with the result. While moviegoers (60% male; 50% 25 and older) gave it an A CinemaScore (and an A plus from the 30% of the audience under age 18), it has only a 46% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Landing in third place was Warner Bros.’ “Kong: Skull Island” in its third week with $14.4 million. It’s pulled in $133.5 million domestically.
In fourth place was Sony’s new release “Life,” with $12.6 million, which is below analyst projections of $15 million. The space thriller, about astronauts on the verge of discovering life on Mars, stars Ryan Reynolds, Rebecca Ferguson and Jake Gyllenhaal.
While the film did score solid early reviews out of the South by Southwest Film Festival in Texas (and a 67% Rotten Tomatoes rating), audiences weren’t impressed. Moviegoers gave it a C-plus CinemaScore.
“Life” was co-produced by David Ellison’s Skydance Media and cost an estimated $58 million to make.
Rounding out the top five was another holdover, Fox’s “Logan,” with $10.1 million in its fourth week. The latest in the X-Men franchise has grossed $201.5 million domestically.
The final new release, Warner Bros.’ “CHIPS,” landed a seventh-place finish, behind Jordan Peele’s social thriller “Get Out.”
The action comedy, written and directed by “Parenthood” star Shepard and based on the 1970s TV show, brought in only $7.6 million, narrowly missing the lower end of analyst expectations of $8 million to $10 million. On the bright side, the reported production budget was only $25 million.
“CHIPS” received a Bminus CinemaScore and a 20% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Premiering this week will be Fox’s animated picture “The Boss Baby” and Paramount’s sci-fi flick “Ghost in the Shell.”