JUN 6-8 BOX OFFICE REPORT: FAULT REACHES FOR THE STARS

It was and it wasn't a great start for teen romance The Fault in Our Stars at the domestic box office. Stellar Thursday evening and Friday figures put the film on track for a blockbuster opening, well ahead of star Shailene Woodley's other YA feature Divergent, though whopping drop-offs thereafter saw it settle for $48 million. That's an excellent weekend total for a romantic drama, well ahead of comparable hits, but the quick fall-off and overwhelmingly young audience don't bode well for its long-term chances. Possibly standing a better shot at success through the coming weeks is Tom Cruise's Edge of Tomorrow. The surprisingly well reviewed action film pulled in a paltry $28.8 million over the weekend, a tiny fraction of its $178 million budget, but signs are strong that the movie's declines from here could be moderate. Nevertheless, opening behind last weekend's leader, Maleficent, with $34.3 million, can only be considered a pretty severe blow for Warner Bros. in what's shaping up to be a tough summer for the usually reliable studio. As befits a weekend in which the top two grossers were female-led, the biggest-profile limited opener was both driven and directed by women: Obvious Child's per-theatre average of $25,772 in three theatres was the highest of the frame, significantly above Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon from Mike Myers, Citizen Koch and 2 Autumns, 3 Winters, none of which cracked the Top 50. Worst of all, though, was Ti West's The Sacrament, pulling in just $583 total after over a month on VOD. There was bad news in wide release for A Million Ways to Die in the West too: a drop of over 56% on last weekend's initial grosses for the comedy ensures that Seth MacFarlane's hotly-anticipated follow-up to Ted will fall well short of even a quarter of Ted's final domestic earnings.

Top 10

1. The Fault in Our Stars ($48,002,523)
2. Maleficent ($34,328,264)
3. Edge of Tomorrow ($28,760,246)
4. X-Men: Days of Future Past ($15,154,814)
5. A Million Ways to Die in the West ($7,348,495)
6. Godzilla ($6,121,179)
7. Neighbours ($5,325,155)
8. Blended ($4,122,403)
9. Chef ($2,621,829)
10. Million Dollar Arm ($2,025,950)

Comedies coming at us again next weekend, with sequels How to Train Your Dragon 2 and 22 Jump Street both opening big. Look for the animated offering to come out on top, and by a big margin. Robert Pattinson drama The Rover also opens in limited release.