MAY 30 - JUN 1 BOX OFFICE REPORT: MALEFICENT - $70 MILLION TO DIE IN THE WEST

Amid word that marketing for Disney's latest live-action adaptation of a years-old classic had failed to connect with audiences, Maleficent surpassed almost all expectations. International box office for the film saw it rocket past initial figures for last year's similar Oz the Great and Powerful; domestic numbers were down on Oz, though $69.4 million was still a very solid amount, and easily the highest of star Angelina Jolie's career, as she returns to screens after over three years of absence. An A Cinemascore could help the film earn as much as $200 million by the end of its run. Rival Seth MacFarlane's A Million Ways to Die in the West might have been a viable competitor based on the opening of his last film, Ted; Million Ways' $16.8 million was less than a third of Ted's, however, and was even lower than recent comedy flops Year One, Land of the Lost and The Internship. Its gross was almost doubled by holdover X-Men: Days of Future Past, despite X-Men's steep decline (64.2% down on last weekend) - an unexpected decline due to a positive audience response. Limited openers were pretty weak - Kelly Reichardt's Night Moves could only ride good reviews to a $12,050 per-theatre average, though even that was higher than the averages for We Are the Best! and Filth, both of which were screening in more locations. There were fairly large drops for most wide releases, including another big fall for Godzilla, one which suggests that it may end up falling short of $200 million domestically - high earning overseas should help the Warner Bros. / Legendary Pictures film make up those numbers though.

Top 10

1. Maleficent ($69,431,298)
2. X-Men: Days of Future Past ($32,551,098)
3. A Million Ways to Die in the West ($16,797,385)
4. Godzilla ($12,008,129)
5. Blended ($8,144,303)
6. Neighbours ($8,080,645)
7. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (3,778,605)
8. Million Dollar Arm ($3,588,444)
9. Chef ($1,911,548)
10. The Other Woman ($1,388,886)

Who wants to bet Edge of Tomorrow and The Fault in Our Stars were desperately hoping for a slower start for Maleficent than this? They've both got their sights set on the top spot next weekend, but will either pack enough punch to knock down Disney and Angelina Jolie?