“Maleficent,” Walt Disney’s special-effects laden take on “Sleeping Beauty’s” wicked fairy godmother, captivated moviegoers, collecting $70 million in ticket sales to win the North American weekend box office stakes.
The movie starring Angelina Jolie as the black-robed villain finished far ahead of last week’s winner, “X-Men: Days of Future Past,” which took $32.6 million at U.S. and Canadian theaters.
Seth MacFarlane’s western comedy “A Million Ways to Die in the West” was third with $17.1 million for the three days from Friday to Sunday, according to box office tracking firm Rentrak.
Produced for $180 million, “Maleficent” received mixed reviews but opened strongly with $4.2 million on Thursday night and conjured up more than 80 percent of advance ticket sales for the weekend, according to movie ticketing site Fandango.
The film is the latest in a line of reimagined classics, following “Alice in Wonderland” in 2010 and “Oz the Great and Powerful” in 2013. Industry experts forecast the film would open with $55 million, according to the movie site Box Office Mojo. “We’re very excited with this start,” said Dave Hollis, head of distribution for Walt Disney Studios, noting it hoped for an opening of around $60 million. “Maleficent” took in another $100 at overseas box offices.
Hollis said momentum built through weekend on positive word of mouth. With schools beginning to let out and a “general absence of family product in this marketplace,” Disney was optimistic for the film continuing its strong performance.
“X-Men: Days of Future Past,” with Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart in the seventh installment based on the Marvel Comic series, has collected more than $162 million in sales in domestic theaters since its May 23 release and has generated $500 million worldwide in just two weeks, distributor Fox said.
