As of Thursday, Disney’s “The Jungle Book” is the best-reviewed live-action adaptation of what was previously an animated film on Rotten Tomatoes.
Having been certified “fresh” at 95 percent, it beat films like Disney’s “Cinderella,” which in 2015 accumulated a score of 84 percent and “Maleficent,” which scored 49 percent in 2014.
“Alice in Wonderland” was at 52 percent, and “Snow White and the Huntsman” scored 48 percent.
And while more reviews have yet to pour in, Rotten Tomatoes editor-in-chief Matt Atchity told TheWrap that the score is unlikely to change dramatically, as the film already garnered 106 reviews.
However, 1994’s “The Jungle Book” also had a 92 percent Rotten Tomatoes score — but with the new version having over 100 reviews whereas the original had only 26 reviews, it’s fair to say that Jon Favreau‘s version also beats the 1994 film. Even if its score drops a little over the weekend.
“The Jungle Book” is based on Rudyard Kipling’s stories about Mowgli, an abandoned boy who gets raised by wolves and a black panther named Bagheera. While Disney released an animated version in 1967, the 2016 film stars Bill Murray as Baloo, Ben Kingsley as Bagheera, Scarlett Johansson as Kaa, Lupita Nyong’o as Raksha and newcomer Neel Sethi as Mowgli.
It is opening this weekend in 4,028 theaters.