Box Office: Jungle Book

Disney’s “The Jungle Book” is aiming for an impressive $80 million opening weekend at 4,028 U.S. stites, early estimates showed Friday.
Should the forecast hold, “The Jungle Book” will notch the third-highest opening weekend of 2016 after “Batman v Superman” at $166 million and “Deadpool” at $132.4 million.

The family-friendly tentpole roared to a robust $4.2 million at Thursday night previews and was headed for a $25 million opening day Friday. The live action-CG hybrid, directed by Jon Favreau, has been embraced by critics and carries a 94% Rotten Tomatoes score.
“The Jungle Book” also has a shot at becoming the third-best April launch if it can top “Fast Five,” which opened in 2011 with $86.2 million. “Fast 7” set the April mark last year with $147.1 million and “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” is second with $95 million.

“The Jungle Book” is the latest in Disney’s live-action re-imagining of classic stories. “Cinderella” took in $67.9 million on its debut weekend last year en route to a $201.2 million domestic total and a $542.7 million global cume. “Maleficent” opened two years ago with $69.4 million on its way to a $241.4 million domestic total and $758.5 million worldwide.