Weekend Report: 'Maleficent' Casts Box Office Spell, 'Million Ways' Dies
Maleficent got off to a strong start in the U.S. and abroad this weekend, while Seth MacFarlane's A Million Ways to Die in the West flopped.
Disney's big-budget reimagining of Sleeping Beauty earned $69.4 million at the domestic box office, which is the biggest debut ever for star Angelina Jolie. Meanwhile, it grossed roughly $100 million overseas, which is a significant improvement over 2013's Oz The Great and Powerful.
Playing at 3,948 locations, Maleficent opened noticeably higher than Snow White and the Huntsman ($56.2 million), which debuted on the same weekend two years ago. Still, it was nowhere near Alice in Wonderland (2010), and also wound up a bit shy of Oz The Great and Powerful ($79.1 million).
Maleficent's success can be attributed in part to the enduring popularity of Disney's animated fare: Sleeping Beauty has tons of fans who were clearly excited to see a new take on the story. Maleficent isn't the last time that Disney is mining its animated library for live-action stories: they have Kenneth Branagh's Cinderella and Jon Favreau's The Jungle Book on the 2015 calendar.
It's also important to note that Maleficent was the first major Summer movie targeted toward women. At the risk of sounding redundant, women make up half of the population and half of moviegoers and will continue to reward movies with interesting lead female characters.
Finally, Maleficent likely got a boost from having Angelina Jolie in the title role. Jolie has been a solid box office draw throughout her career, but hasn't appeared in front of the camera since late 2010. Her return to the big-screen—in an exciting, unique role—was surely cause for excitement among her fanbase.
Maleficent's audience was 60 percent female and 51 percent over the age of 25. Families accounted for 45 percent of attendance. The movie grossed $6.7 million in IMAX, and 3D showtimes represented 35 percent of sales.
Moviegoers awarded Maleficent a strong "A" CinemaScore, which is in contrast to its middling reviews (around 50 percent on Rotten Tomatoes). If Maleficent plays out like Oz, Alice and Snow White, it should wind up between $190 and $200 million.
Around-the-World Roundup
Opening in 47 markets, Maleficent earned an impressive $100.6 million this weekend. According to Disney, that's 40 percent ahead of Oz The Great and Powerful across the same group of territories.
The movie's biggest market was Mexico, where it opened to a 2014-best $13.4 million. It was also strong in Russia ($11.5 million) the U.K. ($11 million), Italy ($6.4 million), Brazil ($5.4 million) and the Philippines ($4 million). Other major territories include Germany ($5.2 million), France ($4.9 million), Spain ($3.9 million), Australia ($3.9 million) and South Korea ($3.8 million). With China and Japan still on the way, Maleficent is guaranteed to earn over $300 million total.
Source:
Box Office Mojo