LOS ANGELES — Luckily, the box-office beating “The Boss Baby” and “Beauty and the Beast” put on Sony’s new release “Smurfs: The Lost Village” couldn’t make the animated gnomes any more blue.

The Alec Baldwin-voiced baby with a briefcase took the No. 1 spot for the second week in a row with an estimated $26.3 million in the U.S. and Canada, beating analyst expectations of $25 million.

Disney’s “Beast” came in second with $25 million in its third weekend.

Performing the best of the new releases was “Smurfs: The Lost Village,” with $14.1 million, good for third place. Analysts projected less than $20 million.

“I think it’s within the realm of where we were hoping to be,” said Rory Bruer, Sony’s distribution chief.

Sony Pictures returned to its “Smurfs” franchise, this time with an all-animated version (the first two movies combined computer graphics and live action). In a feminist turn for “The Lost Village,” the Smurf gang meets an all-female tribe led by SmurfWillow, voiced by Julia Roberts.

While “Smurfs” did receive an “A” CinemaScore from moviegoers, it only got a 39 percent positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

The second-best performing new release was Warner Bros., New Line Cinema and Village Roadshow’s “Going in Style” with $12.5 million.

A remake of the 1979 heist film of the same name, the film stars Alan Arkin, Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine as geriatric friends who turn to criminal activity when they fall on hard times. The $24 million movie was directed by Zach Braff, best known for the 2004 indie hit “Garden State” and the TV show “Scrubs.”

While the picture received an average B-plus CinemaScore, it nabbed an A-minus from moviegoers over 50, or 72 percent of the total audience. Critics were less pleased; the comedy has a 43 percent positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

In fifth place was Paramount’s “Ghost in the Shell” with $7.4 million in its second week. The fantastical tale, which was at the center of a “whitewashing” controversy for its casting of Scarlett Johansson, has pulled $31.6 million to date.

The final major new release, Pure Flix’s “The Case for Christ,” debuted to $3.9 million. Analysts projected a less than $10 million take.

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