Not all reboots are created equal.
This past weekend at the box office, nostalgia-driven fare was everywhere, from Beauty and the Beast to Power Rangers and Chips, producing both successful and underwhelming results.
On the high end, Disney’s live-action Beauty and the Beast continued enchanting audiences in its second weekend in theatres, easily topping the charts with $88.3 million (Dh324.2 million), according to studio estimates on Sunday. On the low end, Warner Bros’ raunchy, R-rated Chips debuted in seventh place with $7.6 million.
In the middle was Lionsgate’s Power Rangers, which earned a solid $40.5 million to grab the No 2 spot. The PG-13 take on the campy 1990s television show tells the origin story of the Power Rangers with a diverse teenage cast of relative newcomers.
Its audiences were 60 per cent male, while Beauty and the Beast crowds remained largely female. The divide allowed both to succeed in the crowded marketplace.
Power Rangers didn’t get the best reviews, but audiences gave it a promising A CinemaScore, suggesting that it might have staying power in the coming weeks.
Chips, on the other hand, underwhelmed audiences, critics and the studio. Dax Shepard wrote, directed and starred in the action comedy based on the 1970s and ‘80s TV show about the California Highway Patrol.
Costing $25 million to produce, Chips wasn’t the biggest risk, but its $7.6 million debut disappointed. The film also got a deathly B- CinemaScore from audiences.
“Brand recognition will get you far — it gives you a leg up before you even start — but at the end of the day, it comes down to the movie itself,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for comScore. “No matter how much brand equity they have with a particular title, the real test is: How do critics and audiences respond to that film?
“You still have to deliver a solid movie that will entice people to spend their hard-earned money to go see something that they already know, or already know about,” he said.
That’s where Disney has succeeded, with its latest remake earning $317 million in just 10 days in North American theatres.
“With Beauty and the Beast there have been decades of goodwill and the Disney brand and so many more elements going into it than just the intellectual property,” Dergarabedian said. “Disney makes it look easy. Others have had more challenges.”
Also this weekend, the sci-fi thriller Life failed to connect with audiences, debuting in fourth place with $12.6 million behind holdover Kong: Skull Island with $14.4 million.
The R-rated space film stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Ryan Reynolds as astronauts who discover that the alien life form they have brought on board might be dangerous. With a $58 million price tag, Sony and Skydance’s Life has a long journey to profitability.
Dergarabedian said that part of the reason for its muted launch might be that recent space films, such as Passengers and Arrival, are available for home viewing. The much-anticipated Alien: Covenant and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 also are on the horizon.
Despite some flops, the March 2017 box office, which crossed $1 billion this weekend, has become the biggest March of all time, with help from the strength of Logan, Kong: Skull Island, Get Out and Beauty and the Beast.
