The teen love story The Fault in Our Stars came in a strong No. 1 this weekend, earning $48 million over the three day frame, along with an "A" Cinemascore and an audience that was a staggering 82% female and 79% under 25. Even though the movie was pretty frontloaded (early reports based on sales for Thursday and Friday showings had the movie opening north of $58 million) it's a huge success for a film that cost just $12 million to make. The top two movies this week were both female targeted, as Maleficent came in 2nd with $33 million, just a 52% drop from last week for a total of $127 million, and already over $300 million globally, making the revisionist fairy tale an unqualified hit.
Edge of Tomorrow, the Tom Cruise starring action sci-fi thriller, came in third with just $29 million, kind of a mediocre opening for a film that got some pretty outstanding reviews (89% Rotten Tomatoes), although it did come in number one overseas, with $82 million, proving that Cruise is still a worldwide draw for mass audiences, if not so much here in the U.S. My guess is that people thought the movie looked too similar to last year's Oblivion, another Cruise sci-fi extravaganza, which was okay at best. X-Men and One Million Ways to Die in the West rounded out the top 5, with the former now having grossed $189 million total, which means it will pass The Amazing Spider-Man 2, and the latter still a disappointment, having earned just $30 million.
Top 5:
- The Fault in Our Stars- $48.2 million
- Maleficent- $33.5 million
- Edge of Tomorrow- $29.1 million
- X-Men: Days of Future Past- $14.7 million
- One Million Ways to Die West- $7.2 million
Another big weekend is just around the corner, with both sequels next week coming in with stellar reviews on top of already huge expectations. How to Train Your Dragon 2 should come in very strong with the family audience, while 22 Jump Street should slide in nicely to the comedy void, especially with One Million Ways disappointing. See you next week!
