Entertainment Live: “Aladdin” apparently still has the old magic, as the new Disney film took in an estimated $86.1 million in the Friday-to-Sunday period in North America to lead all box-office offerings, industry watcher Exhibitor Relations reported.

The film, released on the US’s four-day Memorial Day weekend, is expected to earn $105 million when Monday’s ticket sales are included, well beyond earlier estimates of around $80 million, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

The live-action movie, directed by Guy Ritchie, stars Will Smith as the genie and the Egyptian-born Canadian actor Mena Massoud as the wily charmer who pretends to be a prince to catch the attention of the lovely Jasmine (Naomi Scott).

“Avengers,” with an all-star cast including Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Bradley Cooper, Scarlett Johansson and Josh Brolin, has broken domestic records but, with a worldwide take of $2.68 billion, is still shy of the $2.79 billion earned by all-time leader “Avatar” in 2009.

Fourth place went to Warner Bros.’ “Pokemon: Detective Pikachu,” at $13.3 million ($17 million). Its animated title character (voiced by Ryan Reynolds) teams up with a young boy (Justice Smith, in a live-action role) to seek the boy’s missing father.

Dhaka, 28 May (campuslive24.com)//MIH