'Kung Fu Panda 3' holds the throne at box office

PanARMENIAN.Net - "Kung Fu Panda 3" stays at No. 1 at the North American box office in its second week. With additional $21 million that brings its current total domestic gross to approximately $69 million, the DreamWorks animated movie easily beats newcomer "Hail Caesar", AceShowbiz reports.

From filmmaking duo Ethan and Joel Coen, "Hail Caesar" opens at No. 2 with an estimated $11.4 million. Despite boasting such A-listers as George Clooney, Josh Brolin, Channing Tatum and Scarlett Johansson in the cast, the comedy movie failed to amaze moviegoers and received C- CinemaScore from audiences.

Universal distribution chief Nicholas Carpou said that CinemaScore may not capture the brothers' fan base. "There are some films that really defy polling in a general sense," he said. "The Coen brothers are legitimate auteur filmmakers, and they have a loyal fan base that is coming out to see this movie."

comScore senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian, meanwhile, said of "Hail Caesar", "The Coen brothers are a name brand with a solid following, but their collective box office is not massive. It's a star-studded spectacle and a movie like this has long-term playability."

But "Hail Caesar" is not the only new release which underperformed this week as the Super Bowl fever took over the U.S. this Sunday. "The Choice" based on Nicholas Sparks' novel debuts at No. 5 with approximately $6.1 million, followed by "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" at No. 6 with an estimated $5.2 million.

Back to the top 5, "The Revenant" falls one spot from last week's No. 2 to No. 3 with additional $7.1 million. "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" also drops one spot to No. 4 with an estimated $6.9 million. The sci-fi, action movie has now grossed $905 million domestically.