Despite re-writes, re-shoots and production wobbles, the risk of telling a re-imagined fairy tale in Maleficent is paying rewards for Disney, which has seen Angelina Jolie and her horned hat soar to the top of the box office across the pond. The new movie, which promises to fill in a hidden back-story from Sleeping Beauty, may not have clicked with all critics, but audiences clearly turned out, and the film landed at the top spot with $70 million.
If you add in Maleficent’s overseas haul, it has actually earned around $170 million this first weekend, which will make the Mouse House’s accountants very happy. Expect to see even more fairy tale re-workings gearing up in the future.
**X-Men: Days Of Future Past **was knocked from its throne fairly quickly (not an uncommon occurrence with summer movie season in full swing), dropping 64% to earn $32.6 million. But with more than $162 million in the bank stateside and roughly $500 million worldwide after one week (a franchise record), the mutants are still a successful bunch.
Seth MacFarlane can’t claim the same for his latest. Comedy Western A Million Ways To Die In The West appears to have itself died in its feet, making just $17 million in the US, a far cry from Ted’s opening figure of $54 million back in 2012. Godzilla sank to fourth place, taking in $12.2 million, while Adam Sandler's Blended was down to fifth with $8.4 million.
Seth Rogen / Zac Efron comedy (Bad)** Neighbours** was in sixth, taking home $7.7 million, ahead of The Amazing Spider-Man in seventh with $3.77 million. Baseball drama **Million Dollar Arm **slipped to eighth and $3.7 million, Chef clung solidly to ninth with $2 million and The Other Woman fell to 10th, earning $1.4 million. Chef's figures continue to impress given that Jon Favreu's culinary comedy drama is on just 624 screens, a far cry from the 2-4,000 plus of other movies in the charts.
To see a troubled dark fairy banish a wisecracking cowboy to limbo in the full chart listings, head to Box Office Mojo.