Weekend box-office – 7th to 13th of June 2014 – can Maleficent curse the X-Men or A Million Ways die in the West?

Many former indisputable Hollywood megastars have recently found themselves far behind the critical and commercial success of their earlier work, IE Tom Cruise, Eddy Murphy, Johnny Depp etc. After The Tourist and Salt failed to hit with critics, Angelina Jolie will be determined to make her new huge budget spectacle fantasy Maleficent elevated from the aforementioned group. However, Jolie faces major competition from A Million Ways to Die in the West, a star studded western and follow up to the 2012 smash hit comedy Ted. Last week, we predicted that Maleficent would take the top spot but let’s see how it got on.

US:

1. Maleficent – Director: Robert Stromberg – $69.4 million
2. X-Men: Days of Future Past – Bryan Singer – $32.6 million
3. A Million Ways to Die in the West – Seth MacFarlane – $16.8 million
4. Godzilla – Gareth Edwards – $12 million
5. Blended – Frank Coraci – $8.1 million

UK:

1. Maleficent – Robert Stromberg – £6.6 million
2. X-Men: Days of Future Past – Bryan Singer – £3.5 million
3. Edge of Tomorrow – Doug Liman – $1.9 million
4. A Million Ways to Die in the West – Seth MacFarlane – £1.2 million
5. Godzilla – Gareth Edwards – £1 million

An iffy critical response hasn’t put audiences off Maleficent; the promise of a sinister Jolie and another Disney revival has brought fans in their millions to catch the film. It’ll likely surpass other recent Disney reboots such as Snow White and the Huntsman but Alice in Wonderland is likely out of reach. X-Men 7 is still managing to hold its own, now taking its tally past $500 million – the first in the series to do so. A Million Ways however is yet another comedy western flop, following the likes of Wild Wild West and The Lone Ranger, love for the genre has clearly faded since Blazing Saddles forty years ago. Tom Cruise’s new sci-fi action Edge of Tomorrow has still made some fair money under the competition but it’ll likely recoup with its US release. This week I’ve score 7/10 which takes my running total to 156/310.

US:

1. The Fault in Our Stars – Josh Boone
2. Edge of Tomorrow – Doug Liman
3. Maleficent – Robert Stromberg
4. X-Men: Days of Future Past – Bryan Singer
5. A Million Ways to Die in the West – Seth MacFarlane

UK:

1. 22 Jump Street – Phil Lord, Chris Miller
2. Maleficent – Robert Stromberg
3. X-Men: Days of Future Past – Bryan Singer
4. Edge of Tomorrow – Doug Liman
5. Fruitvale Station – Ryan Coogler

Angelina Jolie in Maleficent, this week’s US and UK number one.

Weekend box-office – 31st of May to 6th June 2014 – will Adam Sandler get Blended by the X-Men?

It’s been long established that Fox’s X-Men are far behind other Marvel instalments such as Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, The Avengers and Spider-Man. While those I’ve mentioned tend to edge towards the billion dollar mark (Avengers and Iron Man even surpassing it, the mutants have never steered an instalment past $500 million. The series’ next chapter Days of Future Past is set to be the one to take the franchise the MCU’s heights but, it its opening weekend, it faces tough competition from the rebirth of Japanese legend Godzilla and the comedic combination of Sandler and Barrymore in Blended. Last week, we predicted that the X-Men would top the box office but let’s see how it got on.

US:

1. X-Men: Days of Future Past – Director: Bryan Singer – $90.8 million
2. Godzilla – Gareth Edwards – $30.9 million
3. Blended – Frank Coraci – $14.3 million
4. Bad Neighbours – Nicholas Stoller – $14 million
5. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 – Marc Webb – $7.8 million

UK:

1. X-Men: Days of Future Past – Bryan Singer – $9.1 million
2. Godzilla – Gareth Edwards – £2.7 million
3. Bad Neighbours – Nicholas Stoller – £1.2 million
4. Postman Pat: The Movie – Mike Disa – £0.8 million
5. Blended – Frank Coraci – £0.7 million

Days of Future Past has done hugely impressive numbers; in the US it’s gained the fourth biggest opening of the year (only slightly behind The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Godzilla and Captain America: The Winter Soldier) while it’s the best debut of the year in the UK. Godzilla is continuing to take in monstrous amounts of money worldwide while it has slipped a fair bit in the States. Adam Sandler’s new comedy Blended is set to become yet another financial flop, following closely after That’s My Boy and Jack and Jill – he’s sank a long way since Happy Gilmore and The Wedding Singer. Fratboy comedy Bad Neighbours has stayed in the top 5 for a good long while but it’s unlikely to go to far beyond the $200 million mark. This week I’ve scored a surprising 7/10 taking my running total to 149/300.

US:

1. Maleficent – Robert Stromberg
2. X-Men: Days of Future Past – Bryan Singer
3. A Million Ways to Die in the West – Seth MacFarlane
4. Godzilla – Gareth Edwards
5. Bad Neighbours – Nicholas Stoller

UK:

1. Edge of Tomorrow – Doug Liman
2. X-Men: Days of Future Past – Bryan Singer
3. Maleficent – Robert Stromberg
4. A Million Ways to Die in the West – Seth MacFarlane
5. Godzilla – Gareth Edwards

Nicholas Hoult, James McAvoy and Hugh Jackman in X-Men: Days of Future Past, this week’s UK and US number one.

Weekend box-office – 24th to 30th of May 2014 – will Godzilla roar over Bad Neighbours?

Big things are expected of British filmaker Gareth Edwards, despite the fact that his only directing credit is the micro budget sci-fi horror Monsters (which took a respectable but not outstanding £4 million). However, he’s getting the attention of Star Wars and his new retelling of Godzilla is predicted to become the year’s biggest hit so far. Last week, we predicted that it’d top the chart but let’s see how it got on.

US:

1. Godzilla – Director: Gareth Edwards – $93.2 million
2. Bad Neighbours – Nicholas Stoller – $26 million
3. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 – Marc Webb – $17 million
4. Million Dollar Arm – Craig Gillespie – $11 million
5. The Other Woman – Nick Cassavetes – $6.3 million

UK:

1. Godzilla – Gareth Edwards – £6.4 million
2. Bad Neighbours – Nicholas Stoller – £1.4 million
3. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 – £0.5 million
4. The Other Woman – Nick Cassavetes – £0.4 million
5. The Two Faces of January – Hossein Amini – £0.3 million

We’re immensely pleased that Godzilla has had the second biggest US opening, just behind Captain America: The Winter Soldier and pipping ahead of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 but it’s likely to have better legs internationally than either of those superhero flicks. Frat comedy Bad Neighbours is continuing its excellent run but we wouldn’t be too surprised if it is undone at the box office by 22 Jump Street or Million Ways to Die in the West. Spider-Man 2 is sliding down slowly (it’s still slightly behind expectation) while Million Dollar Arm’s mediocre opening is causing questions of Jon Hamm’s translation from small to big screen. This week I’ve score 7/10 taking my running total to 142/290.

US:

1. X-Men: Days of Future Past – Bryan Singer
2. Godzilla – Gareth Edwards
3. Bad Neighbours – Nicholas Stoller
4. Blended – Frank Coraci
5. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 – Marc Webb

UK:

1. X-Men: Days of Future Past – Bryan Singer
2. Godzilla – Gareth Edwards
3. Bad Neighbours – Nicholas Stoller
4. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 – Marc Webb
5. Blended – Frank Coraci

Elizabeth Olsen in Godzilla, this week’s UK and US number one.