'Baby' Clings to Box-Office Lead, but 'Beauty' Keeps its Charm

The tie-wearing toddler of "The Boss Baby" nosed out Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" at North American box offices for a second weekend, industry data showed Monday.

The animated tale of the rivalry between babies against puppies took in $26.4 million, Exhibitor Relations reported, bringing its two-week total to $89.4 million. Alec Baldwin voices the chief baby in the DreamWorks production, distributed by Fox.

"Beauty" demonstrated staying power, netting $23.7 million in its fourth week for a domestic total of $430.9 million. With its intricate production and rich musical score, the Disney film, starring Emma Watson and Dan Stevens, is the year's highest-grossing film so far.

But Sony, which had been banking on the cuddly appeal of the blue munchkins in "Smurfs: The Lost Village," faced disappointing numbers. The film's $13.2 million opening weekend was "one of the worst starts in recent memory for an animated offering from a major Hollywood studio," said the Hollywood Reporter.

The original film in the series, "The Smurfs," earned much of its $563.7 million gross on overseas ticket sales, and Sony appears to be hoping this film will follow suit.

"Going in Style," a Warner Bros. comedy starring Morgan Freeman, Alan Arkin and Michael Caine as an octogenarian trio determined to rob a bank after their pension money goes up in smoke, placed fourth in its opening weekend, taking in $11.9 million. That beat expectations for a film aimed at an older audience. It cost just $24 million to produce.

And fifth was Paramount's "Ghost in the Shell," starring Scarlett Johansson in an adaptation of a Japanese anime tale. It had weekend revenues of $7.3 million. 

Rounding out the top 10 are:

"Power Rangers" ($6.2 million)

"Kong: Skull Island" ($5.6 million)

"Get Out" ($4.1 million)

"Logan" ($4.02 million)

"The Case for Christ" ($3.96 million)