To the surprise of absolutely no-one following its successful launch overseas, the wave of positive reviews and the healthy word of mouth, Captain America: Civil War rocketed into the top spot at the US box office this weekend, earning a huge $181.7 million, according to studio estimates.
Civil War's opening puts it third in the charts of Marvel launches, behind The Avengers (AKA Avengers Assemble) and Age Of Ultron, and while some had predicted that it could cross the $200 million mark, a $180 plus kick-off is nothing to sniff at. Including its overseas takings, the third Captain America movie is now on $678.3 million globally after a week in the charts elsewhere and the high CinemaScore upon its Stateside arrival means the new movie should keep earning for weeks to come. In comparison, the year's other big superhero smackdown, Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice, is close to finishing up with $865.4 million worldwide after seven weeks in the charts.
Cap and co. dislodged The Jungle Book, though given that they're both under the Disney banner, you've got to figure that the Mouse House is happy. Jon Favreau's update of the Rudyard Kipling tale (and the Disney animation produced from it) took in $21.8 million this weekend for a $284.9 million US total after four weeks. Garry Marshall's Mother's Day surprised by jumping up one slot from its fourth place launch on $9 million, though having actual Mother's Day in the US happen this weekend will have helped that. Fourth was The Huntsman: Winter's War, which continues to struggle, adding $3.5 million, while kitten action comedy Keanu was down to fifth with $3 million.
Barbershop: The Next Cut dropped a place to sixth on $2.7 million, with Zootopia slipping to seventh and $2.6 million. Melissa McCarthy's The Boss clung to eighth with $1.7 million, while animated adventure Ratchet & Clank fell to ninth with $1.4 million. And at 10th we find the aforementioned Batman V Superman, which is close to leaving the top 10, and earned a shade over $1 million this weekend.