3 Jun – A new age of Disney classics could be upon us if the numbers of "Maleficent" over the box office weekend of 29 May to 1 June in the United States and Malaysia are any indications of how successful Disney's new approach to reinvent their Princess classics would be. "Maleficent" opened with a strong USD69.4 million in the domestic American market, making it the biggest opening for lead actress Angelina Jolie, who steals the show by casting a spell over audiences after an almost five year absence onscreen. This could bode well for Disney's upcoming revisions of "Cinderella", "The Jungle Book" and the yet-to-be-titled movie based on Cruella De Vil from "101 Dalmations". Jolie alone was able to push the entirety of the X-Men in "X-Men: Days of Future Past" down to second place after its overpowering opening, but the "X-Men" still raked in USD32.5 million over the weekend. The sad news over the weekend though goes to the opening of Seth MacFarlane's "A Million Ways to Die in the West". While it did makes its entry at the third spot in the U.S. box office, its USD16.8 million take puts it at the lower bracket of comedies like "The Internship" and "The Dictator"; a disappointing sophomore effort from the "Ted" director, who may have turned off audiences for not appearing as the foul-mouthed teddy bear.
The "Sleeping Beauty" retelling clearly has its fans in Malaysia as "Maleficent" also ruled in the Malaysian box office coming in at first for its opening week. Instead of being cursed to second, "X-Men: Days of Future Past" gets written off to third at the box office by another time-traveling sci-fi that had just entered the Malaysian market. "Edge of Tomorrow", starring Tom Cruise as a cowardly soldier who somehow manages to reset the day before his death every time he dies, perfects his opening plan in Malaysia by coming in at second place. Meanwhile in Singapore, the X-Men of "Days of Future Past" defended their lead at the box office without the invasion of "Edge of Tomorrow". The wrath of "Maleficent" was only strong enough to open second there, while "Godzilla" gradually loses its grip down to third. Also opening in Malaysia last week are "City Lights", "Poovarasam Peepee", "The Great Lion: Kun Seng Keng", "Overheard 3", and "Abang Long Fadil". Other new movies that opened in Singapore last week are "City Lights", "Poovarasam Peepee", "Abang Long Fadil", "Overhead 3", and "Coming Home", starring Gong Li.
Box office takings for the weekend just gone (29 May - 01 June 2014)