Life & Style

'Baby' beats 'Beauty' in an animated box-office battle

Published April 2, 2017 Updated April 2, 2017 06:56pm

"Baby" earned a cool $49 million for the three-day weekend, Exhibitor Relations said, nosing out Disney's "Beauty," which took in $47.5 million to give it a huge three-week domestic total of $395.5 million.

Critics have shown little love for "Baby," in which Alec Baldwin voices the "Boss," fighting a secret war against puppies under the noses of oblivious humans.

But audiences don't seem to care.

Boosted by a strong backup cast, with Tobey Maguire, Steve Buscemi, Jimmy Kimmel and Lisa Kudrow, 'Baby' has now taken in $876 million worldwide, according to the specialized website BoxOfficeMojo.

"Ghost in the Shell," a Paramount adaptation of a Japanese manga featuring Scarlett Johansson as a spandex-wearing warrior taking on terrorist hackers, placed a distant third in its opening week, with $19 million in ticket sales.

The film faced controversy over the casting of Johansson, a white woman, to play an Asian role.

"Power Rangers" came in fourth, at $14.5 million. The Lionsgate production features Dacre Montgomery, RJ Cyler, Naomi Scott, Becky G and Ludi Lin as high schoolers with superpowers who battle the nefarious Rita Repulsa (Elizabeth Banks).

The movie, treated roughly by critics, dropped off sharply from its $40.5 million opening a week earlier.

Warner Brothers' "Kong: Skull Island," in its fourth week, slipped two spots to fifth place, earning $8.8 million.

Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson, John Goodman and Brie Larson are explorers on a mysterious island that proves to be the frightening domain of the mighty ape.

Rounding out the top 10 are:

"Logan" ($6.2 million)

"Get Out" ($5.8 million)

"Life" ($5.6 million)

"Chips" ($4.0 million)

"The Zookeeper's Wife" ($3.3 million

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Press), 2017