'Aladdin' flies high at the box office despite mixed reviews

When you first heard about Disney's live-action remake of the 1992 classic, Aladdin, you probably had a pretty strong opinion.

So did critics, throwing down divided reactions to the studio's latest major redo of an animated classic. But that hasn't stopped Aladdin from flying high at the box office.

Aladdin was one jump ahead of the competition, beating John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum, Avengers: Endgame, and Detective Pikachu, along with fellow new openings Booksmart and Brightburn to top the weekend U.S. box office with an estimated $86.1 million over the three days, according to Box Office Mojo.

Of course, it's a long weekend with the Memorial Day holiday, so the family film is expected to top $100 million for its four-day debut.

That could beat Disney's previous Memorial Day big hitter, Solo: A Star Wars Story, which launched this time in 2018, hitting $103 million over three days.

It's a significant win for Disney, according to Box Office Mojo, as the studio's live action titles have done... well... OK at the box office — The Jungle Book remake, with a production budget of $175 million, took a total of $364 million at the domestic box office. Luckily, the Marvel Cinematic Universe titles help out (hello, Avengers: Endgame).

If Aladdin, which reportedly cost over $180 million to make, tops $110 million, it would become one of the biggest Memorial Day openers ever, behind:

• Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End ($139 million)

• Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull ($126 million)

• X-Men: The Last Stand ($122 million)

• Fast & Furious 6 ($117 million)

• X-Men: Days of Future Past ($110 million)

So, how did Aladdin fare outside the U.S.? Pretty damn well it seems, topping $121 million for the three-day weekend internationally. That's all major markets too, except Japan, which gets the film June 7. The biggest market for Aladdin? China, opening with $18.7 million.

Don't worry about John Wick though — with $100 million domestic clocked up in the ten days since the film's release, it's the highest grossing film in the franchise. He's good.