Weekend Box Office Report: March 24-26, 2017

More big bucks for Beauty and the Beast!

Disney's live-action BEAUTY AND THE BEAST was still the Belle of the box office ball this weekend, holding onto the top spot with an estimated $88.3 million!

The fairy tale has an enormous ten-day domestic total of $316.9 million, making it the highest-grossing musical in domestic history (GREASE is in second with $188 million — although that's in 1978 dollars).

Add in $373 million more from international audiences for a worldwide total of $690 million, and the Emma Watson/Dan Stevens romance is already the biggest release of 2017 here, there and everywhere.

Opening in second place was the new big-screen adaptation of Saban's POWER RANGERS with a mighty morphin $40.5 million. The latest version of the popular TV series cost a reported $100 million.

The multi-colored heroes also pulled in an additional $18.7 million overseas for a worldwide opening weekend of $59.2 million. Whether it will end up making enough to justify the plans for six sequels remains to be seen.

Critics (surely not the target audience) mostly shrugged at the PG-13 action clash of cool outfits, robot dinosaurs and Elizabeth Banks, giving the movie an average of 47% on Rotten Tomatoes. The JoBlo review can be found HERE.

KONG: SKULL ISLAND was in third place with $14.4 million for a domestic total of $133.5 million after three weeks. The legendary ape also opened big in China this weekend to boost the monster mash's global total to $392 million (on a reported cost of $185 million).

In fourth place was the new sci-fi thriller LIFE with an opening of $12.6 million. The R-rated release, featuring Ryan Reynolds, Jake Gyllenhaal and Rebecca Ferguson in orbit with a lethal alien, cost a reported $58 million.

The movie was originally set to open on Memorial Day weekend (against the new PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN) but floated up to March in order to avoid ALIEN: COVENANT, which shifted to a May 19th release.

The space horror (written by DEADPOOL guys Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick) also made $16.1 million from international crowds for a worldwide opening weekend of $28.7 million. LIFE earned a 67% critical average on Rotten Tomatoes, and you can check out the JoBlo review HERE.

LOGAN was still sneering and slashing in fifth place with $10.1 million as the ornery mutant clawed past $200 million domestic after a month in theaters. With $565 million worldwide, Wolverine's R-rated farewell is now the third-biggest movie in the X-franchise as it has passed the $543 million global finish of X-MEN: APOCALYPSE.

The horror-thriller GET OUT refused to get out in sixth with another $8.6 million, bringing its domestic total to $147.4 million after five weekends on screens. Writer-director Jordan Peele's R-rated feature debut is now the highest-grossing domestic release for Blumhouse, with this year's SPLIT close behind with $137 million.

Opening in seventh place was the weekend's other new TV adaptation CHIPS with $7.6 million. The Dax Shepard/Michael Pena update of the 1970s highway patrol series cost a reported $25 million. Critics locked away the R-rated comedy with 20% on Rotten Tomatoes (the JoBlo review can be found HERE).

THE SHACK held up in eighth with $3.7 million for a domestic total $49 million after a month. THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE was in ninth with $1.9 million, followed by the R-rated horror movie THE BELKO EXPERIMENT with $1.8 million, down 56% from its opening last weekend.

Outside the chart, HIDDEN FIGURES went into hiding with JOHN WICK: CHAPTER TWO and BEFORE I FALL. In limited release, the Woody Harrelson comedy WILSON opened on 310 screens for a $330k weekend and Danny Boyle's sequel T2: TRAINSPOTTING added 54 screens for an additional $380k.

Next week finishes up the month with cyborg Scarlett Johansson kicking ass in the adaptation GHOST IN THE SHELL, while Alec Baldwin is in charge for the animated THE BOSS BABY, and limited releases include the Jessica Chastain drama THE ZOOKEEPER'S WIFE.

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