It’s time for this strong month at the movies to officially become the March of the Elephants, as Tim Burton‘s Dumbo has lumbered its way into theaters. Right out of the gate, things are…not spectacular for the live-action remake, which flew to $15.3 million on Friday night. (Only $2.6 million coming from Thursday previews.) Early estimates had Dumbo soaring past $50 in its debut weekend, but it’s looking now like the baby flying pachyderm might have trouble clearing that bar.
Burton’s film is a reimagining of the 1941 animated classic, which puts the big-eared baby elephant at the center of a circus owned by Danny DeVito‘s Max Medici. Colin Farrell co-stars as a one-armed horse performer, tasked with looking after Dumbo after he’s bought up by low-key insane theme park owner V.A. Vandevere (Michael Keaton) to perform with his star trapeze artist, Collette Marchant (Eva Green). Critics haven’t exactly been kind to poor Dumbo—read my review here—but you can’t ever really rule out that Disney-Burton connection. Dumbo currently sits at 51% on Rotten Tomatoes; Burton’s 2010 Alice in Wonderland got nailed with a 52% on the way to making $1 billion worldwide.
Meanwhile, a week after its record-breaking premiere, Jordan Peele‘s Us is still holding scary strong, nabbing another $10 million on Friday. To compare, Peele’s feature debut Get Out sat at $57 million domestic after eight days; Us has now tallied $104 million in that same frame.
Captain Marvel inched just a bit closer to the billion dollar mark on Friday night. The Brie Larson-starring MCU film notched another $5.5 million, bringing its domestic total to $339 million. Worldwide, the film now stands at $946 million.
Over in the “yikes” category, faith-based Pure Flix debuted its anti-abortion drama Unplanned on Friday, which landed in fourth with $2.9 million. Below that in fifth with $1.6 million is Five Feet Apart, Lionsgate’s romantic drama starring Cole Sprouse and Haley Lu Richardson.
Take a look at Friday’s numbers below and check back tomorrow for full weekend estimates. (Numbers via Box Office Mojo.)
| Rank | Title | Friday | Total |
| 1. | Dumbo | $15,318,000 | $15,318,000 |
| 2. | Us | $10,190,000 | $104,804,440 |
| 3. | Captain Marvel | $5,500,000 | $338,805,815 |
| 4. | Unplanned | $2,960,000 | $2,960,000 |
| 5. | Five Feet Apart | $1,670,000 | $140,889,630 |