NEW YORK — Tom Cruise sped past Winnie-the-Pooh at the box office to lead all films for the second straight week with an estimated $35 million in ticket sales for “Mission Impossible – Fallout.” The success of Paramount Pictures’ sixth, stunt-filled “Mission: Impossible” installment, along with muted enthusiasm for the Walt Disney Co.’s “Christopher Robin,” made for a seldom-seen result: a Disney movie debuting in second place.
In a year where the studio has already notched three $1 billion films worldwide (“Black Panther,” “Avengers: Infinity War” and, as of this week, “Incredibles 2”), the more modest Winnie-the-Pooh live-action revival opened with a relatively ho-hum $25 million. As a reminder that “Christopher Robin” was a minor release for Disney, “Black Panther” on Sunday became the third film to ever cross $700 million domestically, a feat only previously accomplished by “Avatar” and “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.”
Made for an estimated $75 million, Marc Forster’s “Christopher Robin” stars Ewan McGregor as a grown-up Christopher Robin reunited with the beloved characters of the Hundred Acre Wood: Pooh, Tigger, Piglet and the rest (who are rendered digitally but convincingly felt-like). While reviews were mixed, audiences gave it an “A” CinemaScore.
Cathleen Taff, head of distribution for Disney, said there’s room for non-tentpole releases in the Disney slate.
“It’s one of our smaller films and it’s really focused on character and emotion,” Taff said.
– From news service reports
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