There are probably only a handful of real movie stars left in the world and right now Angelina Jolie is clearly one of them. The Oscar winner scored her biggest opening ever with this weekend's $70 million bow for “Maleficent.” The reimagining of the classic “Sleeping Beauty” tale became a must see for moviegoers across the country and they were pleased as the blockbuster earned an A Cinemascore rating. The debut was less than fellow Disney live action players “Oz: The Great and Powerful” ($79.1 million) and “Alice in Wonderland” ($116.1 million), but the studio will be thrilled if it can come anywhere close to “Oz's” $234.9 million domestic gross in this competitive summer landscape.
“X-Men: Days of Future Past” had a big 64% drop form its opening frame for another $32.6 million and $162 million to date. With significant competition over the next week weeks there now has to be some concern from 20th Century Fox that “Days of Future Past” may not match “X-Men: The Last Stand's” $234 million domestic gross. Happily for the studio, “DoFP” has already earned $500 million globally, more than any other “X-Men” film to date.
The weekend's other new release was Seth MacFarlane's “A Million Ways to Die in the West.” The critically skewered comedy debuted to just $17 million. That was below pre-release polling which expected, at worst, a $20 million three-day. You can't really fault Universal's marketing on this one. The studio made it look as funny as possible. The bigger issue was MacFarlane's ability to convince ticket buyers that he's a real leading man.
“Godzilla” took another big tumble earning just $12.2 million and $174.6 million to date. If Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures can hold on to screens it should cross the $200 million mark domestically, but it's going to be close.
Another Warner Bros. release, “Blended,” held off “Neighbors” for the fifth slot taking in another $8.4 million for $29.6 million to date. It will be something of a miracle if the Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore comedy can earn over $50 million in the U.S.
New releases this Friday include the romantic drama “The Fault in Our Stars” and the Tom Cruise Sci-Fi flick “Edge of Tomorrow.
Weekend actuals are released on Monday.