The Boss Baby, the 34th(!) feature film released under the Dreamworks Animation banner, took No. 1 at the U.S. box office in its debut weekend, pulling in a much-higher-than-predicted $50.2 million.
Box office pundits had unanimously pegged Disney’s live-action remake of Beauty and the Beastto win first place, with Boss Baby predictions ranging from $30-35 million. Like last year’s obviously low Sausage Party predictions, it’s a case of film industry observers once again underestimating the powerful appeal that animated films can have with the masses.
Directed by Dreamworks veteran Tom McGrath, Boss Baby faced an uphill battle with more than half of film reviewers giving the film a thumbs down. Audiences who saw the film ended up disagreeing with the critics; the film earned an A- Cinemascore rating from filmgoers.