The Jungle Book box office earnings have done well since its premiere on April 15 and continue to rise past The Huntsman: Winter’s War, the follow-up to Snow White and the Huntsman (2012). Though the film had a slow start in its opening weekend, it eventually soared to new heights, establishing itself as family-oriented classic.
Based on both the Disney classic The Jungle Book (1967) and the novels written by Rudyard Kipling, the films tells the story of a feral child in India, named Mowgli (Neel Sethi), who is raised in the jungle by wolves. He wishes to stay there, but his life is threatened by Shere Khan (Idris Elba), the man-eating tiger. He’s guided by a black panther (Ben Kingsley) who narrates the story and protects Mowgli on his journey of discovery and adventure.
The movie is directed by none other than actor-director Jon Favreau and also stars A- list actors Scarlett Johansson (Kaa), Lupita Nyong’o (Raksha), Christopher Walken (King Louie), and Bill Murray (Baloo). The film has also received great reviews from critics globally and is praised for its use of CGI and script. (Seems to be a very good year for Disney!)
With a movie budget of $175.0 million, The Jungle Book did surprisingly well—people do tend to underestimate the power of a good family movie, often comparing them to today’s heavy action dramas. The Jungle Book’s numbers should have no problem hitting the $500.0 million mark if ticket sales stay this way. The Huntsman: Winter’s War received a cold reception since its opening weekend, only earning $20.0 million in North America despite the movies own A- list power of Charlize Theron and Chris Hemsworth, audiences just weren’t charmed.
It seems that talking animals are favored more than magical beings this year, given the wild success of Zootopia earlier this year. Guess you can never underestimate family movies, no matter how ridiculous the concept may seem in the trailer!
