‘Dumbo’ Film Has Less-Than-Spectacular Debut
The tricky aspect of re-creating age old classics is that it is often difficult for a remake to compete with the original. So far, this seems to be the case for Tim Burton’s Dumbo, which was released on Friday. The film is a recreation of the original animated movie which came out in 1941. The film tells the story of a circus elephant who is made fun of for his unusually large ears. The original was a huge success and is now considered a Walt Disney classic. Burton’s remake isn’t quite the smash hit expected, bringing in $15 million in the Friday box office, according to Collider.
While a $15 million profit might not seem too shabby, the sum was anticipated to be far larger at this point. Only $2.6 million of this overall amount was accumulated by Thursday previews, which was a fairly disappointing outcome. Early estimates expected that the film would surpass $50 million during its debut weekend. However, based upon the turnout thus far, this will be a challenging feat to reach.
#Dumbo and the challenge of remaking a classic https://t.co/a5HPXMA2Jn pic.twitter.com/Nbnqc3homR
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) March 30, 2019
The remake puts a new spin on the classic story and features a team of well known actors, including Danny DeVito, Collin Farrell, Michael Keaton and Eva Green. DeVito takes on the role of Max Medici, the owner of the circus for which Dumbo performs. Meanwhile, Farrell plays a one-armed horse performer who takes over the job of caring for Dumbo upon his arrival at Keaton’s character, V.A. Vandevere’s, wild theme park. Finally, Eva Green plays the sweet and charming trapeze artist, Collette Marchant, who is set to perform alongside the young elephant.
Despite its numbers being lower than anticipated, Dumbo is still in the lead overall this weekend, surpassing Us, Captain Marvel, and Five Feet Apart by a wide margin.
This is the first film of its kind that 42-year-old Farrell has ever done and he’s certainly soaking up all the excitement. At the Los Angeles World Premiere for the film, the Irish-born actor pondered upon why he hasn’t worked on more children’s movies throughout his vast career. He joked that the palpable joy and anticipation in the air at the premiere was something he’s been missing in all of his years of intense, dramatic films, according to Fox News.
“Certainly, a day like today – it’s so colorful and the excitability in the air with so many children. I’ve never done a premiere with this many kids around – I’m thinking is this what I’ve been missing out on for 20 years trying to make serious drama?”
