The other box office news this weekend, besides "Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice" slipping from the top spot, was Disney‘s terrific international debut for "The Jungle Book." Earning $28.9 million abroad before it lands in stateside cinemas this weekend, it did basically double that of the live action smash hit "Cinderella," so yes, the studio is feeling confident, and yes, that means a sequel.
Variety reports that director Jon Favreau and screenwriter Justin Marks are in talks to return for their respective roles on "The Jungle Book 2." Obviously, there’s no word yet on where the story goes next, but they’ll figure something out, because Disney will pay them handsomely to do so.
It’ll be interesting to see what this means for Warner Bros.‘ own brewing "Origins: Jungle Book" movie, directed by Andy Serkis, which has already been pushed back a year to 2018. But I can’t imagine it’ll be very encouraging to see a rival studio have a smash success with the same material, and then try and follow in their footsteps.
"The Jungle Book" opens on Friday.
