Box Office: Angelina Jolie’s ‘Maleficent’ Making Magic With $70 million Plus U.S. Opening
- Details
- Published on Sunday, 01 June 2014 09:06
- Written by Variety
Angelina Jolie’s got the box office magic with “Maleficent,” with early Friday forecasts pointing to a U.S. opening weekend that could wind up above $70 million.Disney’s assiduously marketed fantasy epic is on track to take in about $23 million to $26 million on Friday, including a solid $4.2 million from Thursday evening showings. Friday’s weekend projections for “Maleficent” ranged from the low $60 millions to the low $70 millions.Friday business appeared to be significantly more robust than trackers had expected, which had led to recent forecasts in the $60 million range. The live-action retelling of the Sleeping Beauty story will become the highest opening weekend for Jolie, easily topping the $50.9 million launch frame for 2008′s “Wanted.” Disney’s marketing push for “Maleficent,” which carries a $180 million pricetag, stresses her portrayal of a supernatural villain — albeit one with a human side. The studio saw a similarly strong performance last year with another fantasy-actioner, “Oz the Great and Powerful,” which opened with $79.1 million domestically on its way to a solid $234.9 million at the domestic box office.Matinee business for “Maleficent” was in line with the performance of “Oz,” which debuted in March 2013, when far fewer children were out of school. Reviews for “Maleficent” have been mixed, with a 49% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.Friday’s forecasts were less sunny for Seth McFarlane in his first live-action starring role in “A Million Ways to Die in the West.” Universal’s R-rated Western comedy was heading for about $7 million to $9 million on Friday, leading to a weekend in the $20 million to $22 million range.
That’s less than half of the $49 million opening for “Neighbors,” another Universal comedy aimed at adults. “Neighbors” has grossed an impressive $120 million in its first three weeks.McFarlane stunned Hollywood in 2012 with “Ted,” which opened domestically with $54.4 million on its way to a $218.8 million domestic cume and took in another $331 million overseas.Reviewers have not been kind to “A Million Ways,” with a 34% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.Fox’s “X-Men: Days of Future Past” showed plenty of punch at the start of its second weekend with Friday’s number in the $10 million to $12 million range on its eighth day in U.S. theaters after grossing $129 million in its first week.The mutant sequel, which earned an A CinemaScore rating, looks likely to finish the weekend with $35 million-$38 million — representing a decline of about 55% to 60% from the three-day launch of $91 million.That decline is at the low end of “X-Men” films in the series, which have dropped from 53% to nearly 70% in their second weekends.The third weekend of “Godzilla” will finish fourth with about $13 million after devouring $162 million in its first two weeks.
 |
Angelina confirms talks for Cleopatra movie – but might she be tempted to retire after?
- Details
- Published on Sunday, 01 June 2014 09:00
- Written by Metro
Angelina Jolie has revealed she has been in talks to star in a film about the life of Cleopatra.The Maleficent star said she has been meeting with different directors to come up with ideas for the film.While the project is coming together, Jolie admitted that such a huge role would require a lot of preparation.She told Edith Bowman on Radio 5 live: ‘We’ve been working on it. There’s been lots of different ideas of directors and lots of different discussions. The script has been written by Eric Roth, who is a dear friend and a brilliant writer.’She suggested that playing Cleopatra would be such a huge role that she might be tempted not to carry on acting.‘She’s complicated, it’s complicated to get this one right. I think we’re getting there. It’s getting close. I imagine the preparation for it is going to be big.’She went on: ‘It’s one of those that you think maybe that’s the one you put everything into and that’s where you end it, that’s where you finish – in a great way! ‘What could you do beyond that one?’ The actress recently hinted that her acting career will be taking a back seat in the near future.Angelina revealed that she will focus on her humanitarian work with the United Nations and Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative; and directing instead.‘I’ve had a wonderful career and I’m very happy to have had all the opportunities to tell stories and work for as long as I have’ she said.‘I’m sure there will be more films but I am happy I am able to be selective and have fun with characters like this but I would like to focus on writing and directing and above all I would like to focus more on my work with the UN and PSVI.’
 |
Angelina Jolie is Brad Pitt's 'Maleficent' at Hollywood Premiere!
- Details
- Published on Thursday, 29 May 2014 10:52
- Written by Just Jared
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt hold hands while arriving at premiere of her new flick Maleficent held at the El Capitan Theatre on Wednesday (May 28) in Hollywood. A few weeks ago, the 38-year-old actress sported a black dress while supporting the 50-year-old actor at his 2014 Make It Right Foundation Gala in New Orleans, La. “I want them to do it for fun only, and when they get older, if they decide to be actors, I would just ask that that’s not the center of their lives,” Angie recently shared to ABC about her kids going into acting. “That’s an aspect but they are involved in many other things, because I don’t think it’s a healthy focus as the center of your life.” FYI: Angelina is wearing Versace and Brad is wearing Gucci.
 |
Maleficent's Darkly Beautiful Jewels
- Details
- Published on Wednesday, 28 May 2014 04:11
- Written by Vogue
EVERYONE wants a little bit of Maleficent - Disney's summer blockbuster starring (in case you've been living on Mars for the past few weeks) Angelina Jolie as the titular villain - but, far from just creating the usual movie merchandise (think horns on a hairband and maybe a cloak), Disney has collaborated on something much more spectacular. The film behemoth has enlisted Crow's Nest Fine Jewellery to encapsulate all that is enthralling and beautiful about Sleeping Beauty's fairytale nemesis in a series of wearable pieces."It's a seven-piece collection of contemporary and statement rings, bracelets and earcuffs, taking inspiration from and interpreting the key elements of the film," designer Daniel Belevitch told us. "Each piece is set in rhodium with black diamonds, featuring a pear-shaped onyx, which contrasts with the green tsavorite that has become signature for my core pieces."Inspired by key motifs in the film - fire, dragons, thorns and feathers - and having watched clips and closely examined the costumes, Belevitch began sketching. Ranging in price from £2,500 to £13,500, the finished offering is as exquisite and beautiful as the film's protagonist - but like her is also complex."She's a dark character but with a beauty as well," he added. "I think she's misunderstood and we can learn something about ourselves from her. I hope my interpretation of the character, that I tried to capture within the jewellery, reflects how other people feel too, dark but beautiful."
 |
Box Office: Angelina Jolie’s ‘Maleficent’ Targets $60 Million-Plus Opening
- Details
- Published on Tuesday, 27 May 2014 03:45
- Written by Variety
The Angelina Jolie-starrer “Maleficent” looks to be beneficent for Disney at the box office.The live-action “Sleeping Beauty” reboot is on track to open to north of $60 million on May 30, according to early estimates. The $175 million-plus production needs to do strong business overseas to see a profit.“Maleficent” comes on the heels of “Frozen’s” mega success and thereby revived interest in Disney princess movies. It also follows several other Disney re-imaginings: 2010′s “Alice in Wonderland” and last year’s “Oz The Great and Powerful.” Both of those movies were box office hits, although “Oz” underperformed overseas. “Maleficent” would need to match “Oz’s” $493 million worldwide cume to make an impact.Meanwhile, “Alice in Wonderland” bowed to a record-breaking $116 million and went on to haul over $1 billion worldwide. But that VFX-heavy Disney fantasy pic was bolstered by the brand value of Tim Burton and Johnny Depp.Although Jolie has star power, it hasn’t translated to box office gold for quite some time. She’ll be back in front of the camera after taking time off from acting to focus on directing. Her last two starring roles in 2010′s “Salt” and “The Tourist” (co-starring Depp post-”Alice in Wonderland”) both disappointed financially.Jolie’s startling transformation into the titular evil fairy who places the sleeping curse on princess Aurora (whose younger version is played by Jolie and Brad Pitt’s daughter Vivienne) has generated much buzz throughout the promotional campaign.
The bigscreen fairytale adaptation co-stars Elle Fanning (the older Aurora), Sharlto Copley and Juno Temple.“Maleficent” director Robert Stromberg was partly responsible for “Alice” and “Oz’s” success as their production designer, but he’s new to the directing world. Stromberg will make his directorial debut after stepped in to replace Burton, who left the helm because of scheduling conflicts.Unlike “Alice” and “Oz,” which launched in the less crowded month of March, “Maleficent” faces off against several summer blockbusters. It’s opening on the same day as Seth MacFarlane’s “A Million Ways to Die in the West.” Even though MacFarlane’s R-rated pic appeals to a different audience than the PG movie, “Million Ways to Die” could reach a wider-than-anticipated audience following the success of “Ted.”Disney also faces heavy competition from Fox as “Maleficent” is bowing a week after “X-Men: Days of Future Past” and a week before Shailene Woodley’s “The Fault in Our Stars.” “Godzilla,” which had the year’s second largest opening, will likely still be making a killing then.“Maleficent” seems to be more on par with Universal’s summer blockbuster “Snow White and the Huntsman,” which opened to $56 million on the same weekend in 2012 and earned $397 worldwide. Like “Maleficent,” the $170-million production told a classic Disney tale through from the female villain’s point of view.The film has a day-and-date release in most major territories, but won’t bow in India, Japan or Mexico until early July. It will be released in the U.K. and Italy on May 28 — two days ahead of its U.S. launch.
 |
Share
