Angelina Jolie Rules as "Maleficent" while Seth MacFarlane Flops

[JamesG]

Weekend Report: Maleficent Casts Box Office Spell, Million Ways Dies
by Ray Subers
June 1, 2014


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 an estimated $70 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.

Overall business was about even with the same weekend last year, when Now You See Me and After Earth opened to $29.4 million and $27.5 million, respectively.







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.







In second place, X-Men: Days of Future Past plummeted 64 percent to $32.6 million. That drop is on par with last year's Fast & Furious 6, and is a slight improvement over X-Men: The Last Stand.

Still, it's a bit steeper than expected given the movie's strong word-of-mouth and reviews. To date, its earned $162.1 million, and is now on track for a final total between $220 and $230 million.







In third place, Seth MacFarlane's A Million Ways to Die in the West opened to an estimated $17.1 million. That's less than one-third of Ted's $54 million debut in June 2012.

The movie even managed to open lower than past Summer comedy flops like Year One ($19.6 million), Land of the Lost ($18.8 million), The Dictator ($17.4 million) and The Internship ($17.3 million).



Months ago, it seemed like A Million Ways to Die in the West could be a solid hit: the redband trailer had plenty of solid jokes that aligned nicely with the movie's memorable title. In the final run-up to release, though, advertisements became more focused on the Ted brand, and failed to really deliver the kind of laughs that are needed to open an R-rated comedy.

MacFarlane's decision to step in front of the camera almost certainly turned off some prospective moviegoers as well.



The movie's audience skewed male (55 percent) and older (72 percent were over 25 years of age). It received a middling "B" CinemaScore; combine that with poor reviews, and it would be surprising if this made it past $50 million.







Godzilla fell a steep 61 percent to $12.2 million.

To date, the monster movie has earned $174.7 million, and could have a tough time reaching $200 million total.







Adam Sandler comedy Blended eased 41 percent to $8.4 million for a 10-day total of $29.6 million.

Meanwhile, Neighbors dropped 45 percent to $7.7 million. To date, the Seth Rogen/Zac Efron comedy has grossed $128.6 million.

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=3851&p=.htm









May 30-June 1, 2014 Weekend Studio Estimates:


1. Maleficent $70,000,000
2. X-Men; Days of Future Past $32,600,000 / $162,069,000
3. A Million Ways To Die in the West $17,069,000
4. Godzilla $12,225,000 / $174,657,000
5. Blended $8,425,000 / $29,632,000
6. Neighbors $7,715,000 / $128,601,000
7. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 $3,775,000 / $192,730,000
8. Million Dollar Arm $3,700,000 / $28,097,000
9. Chef $2,009,000 / $6,924,000
10. The Other Woman $1,425,000 / $81,112,000

[comedyfreak]

I don't see how Seth Mcfarland's movie can be considered a flop with only 17 Million it only cost 40 to make, so it will make back what it cost in the end. I may go Tuesday to see Maleficent.