LOS ANGELES _ It was a tale as old as time at Friday's box office, as Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" once again climbed into the top spot.
The live-action remake of the animated classic starring Emma Watson and Dan Stevens grossed $23.9 million, bringing its cumulative box office to more than $300 million and putting it on track to pull in another $90 million in total this weekend.
Another family-friendly 1990s revival, "Power Rangers," appears to be having a solid showing in its first weekend of release. From Lionsgate and Saban Entertainment, the big-budget adaptation of the cheesy kids' show about teenagers saving the world took in $15 million on Friday. It is on track to gross $40 million over the weekend.
Warner Bros. "Kong: Skull Island," the latest retelling of the King Kong story, was a distant third with $3.7 million, bringing its cumulative haul to $133 million.
This weekend's two other major new releases have failed to spark much excitement on Friday. Sony's sci-fi thriller "Life," starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Rebecca Ferguson, didn't have much life, pulling in $4.3 million.
"CHIPS," another reboot of a TV series, seems to have already hit the skids. The buddy comedy based on the '70s cop show brought in just $2.5 million on Friday, meaning it is likely to total just $7 million over the weekend. The Warner Bros. film seems destined to be yet another misfire for writer-director Dax Shepard ("Parenthood"), who also stars.
"CHIPS" was virtually tied Friday with the low-budget, socially relevant sleeper hit "Get Out," which has been out for five weeks. The horror-flavored drama written and directed by Jordan Peele has so far grossed $147 million.
