LOS ANGELES, April 2 — Disney’s new live-action film Dumbo failed to soar at the box office as expected on its opening weekend in North America, taking in US$46 million (RM187.7 million), industry watcher Exhibitor Relations found yesterday.

Analysts had expected Tim Burton’s live-action remake of the 1941 classic about a small elephant with huge, magical ears to pick up at least US$50 million in its opening three-day weekend. The film had a US$170 million production budget.

With a cast including Colin Farrell, Michael Keaton, Eva Green and Danny DeVito, Dumbo may yet catch on overseas, where it has taken in US$71 million. The last Burton/Disney live-action collaboration, Alice in Wonderland, earned US$1.02 billion worldwide.

Dumbo pushed last weekend’s box office leader, Us, down to second place, but the Universal horror film still brought in a respectable US$33.2 million.

Written and directed by Jordan Peele, Us stars Lupita Nyong’o and Winston Duke as a couple frighteningly confronted by their doppelgangers.

In third spot was another Disney film, Captain Marvel, with North American ticket sales of US$20.7 million, pushing its cumulative worldwide total to just under US$1 billion. Oscar winner Brie Larson stars as a former fighter pilot with superpowers.

Fourth place went to new release Unplanned from Christian production company Pure Flix, at US$6.4 million — a shade over its US$6 million production budget. Ashley Bratcher stars in the true story of a young Planned Parenthood employee who becomes an anti-abortion activist.

Lionsgate’s Five Feet Apart, featuring Haley Lu Richardson and Cole Sprouse as a pair of enamored teens who must keep their distance as they deal with cystic fibrosis, came in fifth at US$6.2 million.

Rounding out the weekend’s top 10 were: Wonder Park (US$5 million) How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (US$4.4 million) Hotel Mumbai (US$3.2 million) A Madea Family Funeral (US$2.7 million) The Beach Bum (US$1.8 million) — AFP