Considering the reported budget for Maleficent [my review] is said to be around $175-180 million, I can’t tell if the $24.2 million it made at the Friday box office on its way to what will be somewhere around $63-68 million is good or not, primarily because to make up that kind of budget and the marketing that went behind the CG-driven fantasy feature it’s going to need big legs overseas. On the plus side, while reviews weren’t too hot, the film received an “A” CinemaScore from opening day audiences.
The easiest comparisons are to Disney’s Alice in Wonderland and Oz the Great and Powerful, both of which fantasy reimaginings released in 3D, and both of which earned big bucks worldwide. We’ll get more into the comparisons on Sunday morning, but suffice to say, Maleficent‘s $68 million opening would be below what both of those films brought in on their opening weekends. Both of those films, however, also cost more to produce. So, comparisons might be interesting, especially once complete overseas figures roll in, right now they aren’t worth mentioning.
Things aren’t so interesting for Seth MacFarlane‘s A Million Ways to Die in the West [my review] kicked things off with a weak $6.1 million and a third place Friday finish behind X-Men: Days of Future Past. The pic is targeting around $16 million for the weekend, well below the $54.4 million Ted opened with, but the $40 million budget means Universal isn’t looking at anything too catastrophic here.
I will be back on Sunday morning with a complete wrap up. For now, if you’re interested, I reviewed Maleficent Variety]
