Box Office Report: X-Men takes the top spot again while Maleficent opens strong

After having the biggest opening weekend of the year by taking in almost $8.4 million, Fox’s superhero sequel X-Men: Days of Future Past had another solid weekend, securing the top spot with almost $4.5 million. The film has received excellent reviews, including our own rave review, which you can read here. The film has succeeded in being a satisfying return to the cast of the original trilogy while also furthering the story of the prequel timeline, all without getting too bogged down in the complexity of time travel. Expect the film to continue to play strongly over the next few weeks.

The weekend also brought with it the debut of Maleficent, the re-imagining of the Sleeping Beauty fairytale starring Angelina Jolie as the title sorceress. The film did so well that it almost managed to take the top spot away from Days of Future Past, which is no small feat for a fantasy family film. Audiences were clearly drawn in by the intriguing concept, the fantastical visuals and the chance to see Jolie back on the big screen for the first time since The Tourist in 2010. The film also did well in the US, opening in the top spot with almost US$70 million, which is Jolie’s best opening ever and one of the best for female-led blockbusters in history, coming in behind the first two Hunger Games films. It’s a huge triumph for Jolie, who personally shepherded the film into production. Hopefully it’s not another four years before we get to see this talented actress  in action again.

Also opening was Seth McFarlane’s Ted follow-up A Million Ways to Die in the West. The film did well to open in the #3 spot, as reviews have suggested that, while the film is definitely entertaining, it is somewhat of a disappointment after the huge success of Ted. In the US the film took less than a third of the opening weekend gross that Ted enjoyed, so McFarlane is probably glad that he has Ted 2 opening next year.

Releasing this week are three very different films. Tom Cruise stars in yet another epic sci-fi tentpole, this time joined by Emily Blunt in Edge of Tomorrow. The film sees Cruise as an officer fighting in a futuristic war against an invading alien race. Dying within a few minutes of the battle, he finds himself waking up in a time loop in which he is forced to repeat the day over and over again. The film has been recieving strong early reviews (including ours) and Cruise is still quite popular so the film should do well. The other major release, and the one with the strongest built-in fanbase, is the adaptation of John Green’s novel The Fault in Our Stars. The novel has been a massive hit and the film is likely to receive Twilight-levels of support from female audiences. Could this be this decade’s The Notebook? Also releasing is biopic Grace of Monaco, starring Nicole Kidman as Grace Kelly. Kidman is always a solid bet for a good performance, but early reviews have not been kind to the film.

All figures from The Motion Picture Distributors Association of Australia and Box Office Mojo.

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