‘Jungle Book’ dominates box office for third consecutive weekend

A little tabby cat isn’t faring very well against the rest of the animal kingdom at the box office this weekend.

For the third consecutive weekend, Walt Disney Studios’ “The Jungle Book” is dominating ticket sales — spelling bad news for Key and Peele’s kitten-themed comedy “Keanu.” The new take on the Rudyard Kipling classic grossed $10.3 million Friday, according to an estimate from Disney. Since its release earlier this month, “The Jungle Book” has grossed $219.9 million domestically and over $600 million worldwide.

“Keanu,” meanwhile, took in $3.5 million Friday, meaning the film is likely headed for an opening weekend tally of under $10 million. Though the Warner Bros. release cost only $15 to million to make, that’s a lackluster film debut for Keegan Michael-Key and Jordan Peele, who rose to fame on their long-running Comedy Central show.

Their movie, directed by newcomer Peter Atencio, has the comedy duo infiltrating the gang world as they search for Peele’s stolen cat. The film, which premiered at the South by Southwest festival in March, has fared pretty well with critics, and those filmgoers who’ve seen it this weekend seem to be liking it too. The movie received an average grade of B from early audiences, according to market research film CinemaScore.

At least “Keanu” is having a better weekend than “Mother’s Day,” director Garry Marshall’s latest holiday-themed film. The movie — which has a starry cast including Julia Roberts, Jennifer Aniston and Kate Hudson — collected a lackluster $2.8 million Friday. The few who saw the film seemed to like it far more than critics: The movie earned a B+ CinemaScore despite its horrific 9% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Still, “Mother’s Day” is on track to open well below Marshall’s 2010 film “Valentine’s Day,” which launched $56.3 million. And it likely will perform even worse than his 2011 entry “New Year’s Eve,” which debuted with a far-lower $13 million.

In any event, it’s a good thing “Keanu” and “Mother’s Day” aren’t opening next weekend, when they’d have to face off against “Captain America: Civil War.” The Marvel superhero sequel is already finding success overseas, having grossed $37.8 million from 30 markets in just two days. The film starring Chris Evans is expected to start off with nearly $200 million in the U.S. and Canada next weekend.

amy.kaufman@latimes.com

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