‘Maleficent’ produced magic at the box office as it claimed the top spot from ‘X-Men: Days of Future Past’.
The ‘Sleeping Beauty’ adaptation pulled in $70 million and performed beyond studio expectations. Analysts estimated the film would take in around $50 million during its debut weekend. The movie is also Angelina Jolie’s biggest debut of her career besting the $60.2 million ‘Kung Fu Panda 2’ made back in 2008.
‘X-Men: Days of Future Past’ may have slid to second place but it still posts impressive second week numbers as the film took in another $32.6 million. Big second week drops are not unexpected in summer films.
‘A Million Ways to Die in the West’, the other newcomer this week, didn’t live up to the hype. The Seth MacFarlane comedy only brought in $17.1 million, far below the projected $25 million it was expected to bring. It is also less than half of the $54 million MacFarlane’s other comedy ‘Ted’ brought in back in 2012.
In fourth place is ‘Godzilla’ which earned another $12.2 million and brings its domestic total to $174.7 million
Rounding out the top five this week is the Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore comedy ‘Blended’ which pulled in $8.4 million in its second week of release.
‘The Fault in Our Stars’ hopes to take on ‘Maleficent’ when it hits theaters this weekend.
