'Captain America: Civil War' wins at box office again – how Disney is on a roll

Captain America continued to rule the box office in the second week of his film "Captain America: Civil War," which brings together various Marvel superheroes to face off against one another. 

"Civil," which opened on May 6, came in at number one at the domestic box office this past weekend, grossing about $73 million.

Meanwhile, the newest Disney live-action adaptation of an animated film, "The Jungle Book," which has been a perennial strong box office performer since debuting in mid-April, came in second, grossing more than $17 million, while the new movie "Money Monster," which stars George Clooney as the host of a financial TV show and Julia Roberts as his producer, came in third, grossing $15 million.

The new horror movie "The Darkness" struggled, grossing more than $5 million, a performance that placed it fourth for the weekend.

Meanwhile, the ensemble comedy "Mother's Day," which opened in late April, grossed more than $3 million, placing fifth. 

"Civil" is the newest success from Marvel, the Disney-owned studio which has come to dominate the box office with its superhero films. Meanwhile, "Jungle" is the latest success from Disney's model of filming one of their animated stories as live-action, with "Jungle" becoming one of the biggest performers in this genre, topping such fellows as 2015's "Cinderella" and 2014's "Maleficent." 

The studio's newest animated project, this year's "Zootopia," was also a hit at the box office and with critics.

Disney is currently a titan in the entertainment industry, thanks in part to also owning the "Star Wars" franchise, whose newest movie became the highest-grossing film of all time without adjusting for inflation when it was released last year. The company also owns Pixar, whose movies are often critical and audience favorites.

The studio has a sequel to a live-action adaptation of an animated film, "Alice Through the Looking Glass," coming out later this month, while a new release by animation studio Pixar, "Finding Dory," is due in June and a new "Star Wars" film, "Rogue One," is coming out this December. 

Can anything stop the studio's performance at movie theaters? "Alice" is getting some very poor reviews so far, but the 2010 original "Alice" film wasn’t beloved by critics, either, and still became the second-highest-grossing film of the year. The familiar name may be enough to draw audiences. 

Variety writer Brent Lang wrote last year that Disney owning such well-regarded names as "Star Wars," Marvel, and Pixar meant that the movie industry is now "a business dominated by one superpower, a handful of favored states, and a few rogue nations … Forget the Magic Kingdom. This is how a cinematic empire is built."

However, Mr. Lang noted that the competition for superhero stories means that Disney will be going up against rivals such as Warner Bros.

Meanwhile, staff at The Economist wrote that Disney "has become the envy of the industry" after the release of "Star Wars."

"What has set apart Disney is its determination to put storytelling at the heart of its business, and its ability to get its hands on new characters capable of bringing fans back again and again," The Economist wrote. "The biggest doubt is the durability of the model. It is not clear for how long such franchises can be stretched. And introducing new ones is a risk ... No competitor, however, rivals Disney's scale."