Box Office: 'Cinderella' Lives Happily Ever After With $132.5M Global Debut
by Pamela McClintock
Females have once again flexed their might at the box office, delivering a $132.1 million worldwide debut for Kenneth Branagh’s Cinderella, including an estimated $70.1 million domestically from 3,845 theaters and a record-breaking $25 million in China.
Cinderella marks another key win for Disney as it spins its classic animated tales into live-action offerings. Its last effort, Maleficent, a retelling of Sleeping Beauty from the point of the famous villainous, stunned with a $758.4 global gross, thanks in no small measure to star Angelina Jolie.
The fact that Cinderella appears to have bested Maleficent's $69.4 million domestic debut to nab one of the best showings ever for the month of March is all the more impressive considering its leading lady, Downton Abbey's Lily James, isn't a known quantity. Nor is Cinderella in 3D, as was Maleficent.
Related: ‘Cinderella’: What the Critics Are Saying
Several rival Hollywood studios have Cinderella — also starring Cate Blanchett, Helena Bonham Carter and Richard Madden — opening lower than $70 million. The discrepancy won’t be resolved until Monday when final numbers are tallied.
Overseas, Branagh’s $95 million movie launched in 60 percent of the international marketplace, grossing $62.4 million (it has a number of major markets yet to open). In China, it is the highest March opening of all time.
In North America, Cinderella earned an A CinemaScore from Friday’s audience (those over the age of 39 gave it an A+ CinemaScore). Females eager to see the retelling of the classic princess tale made up 77 percent of ticket buyers, while 56 percent of the audience was under the age of 25, including a hearty 44 percent under the age of 18.
Cinderella's theater count included 358 locations in North America, which delivered up $5 million. Globally, Imax houses turned in $4 million for a total $9 million.
Sweetening the pot, Disney played its new Frozen Fever short in front of the film Cinderella (on the eve of the Cinderella's launch, the studio officially announced it is moving ahead with Frozen 2).
Disney celebrated a second victory over the weekend as the Oscar-winning Big Hero 6 became the top-grossing animated release of 2014 ahead of How to Train Your Dragon 2 ($618.9 million) thanks to a late run in China and other key international markets.
Moviegoing has plummeted in recent weeks in North America but Cinderella heralded a turnaround, with revenue up more than 16 percent over the same weekend last year.
However, the weekend’s other new offering, Liam Neeson’s Run All Night, could have used some fairy dust of its own. The $50 million movie opened to $11 million from 3,171 theaters, Neeson’sworst showing since he became a leading older action star (The Next Three Days launched to $6.5 million in 2012, but he only had a supporting role).
In January, Neeson’s Taken 3, debuting to $39.2 million in January (the film marked the final title in the popular franchise). His film before that, A Walk Among the Tombstones, opened to $12.8 million in September 2014.
Related: Liam Neeson: I’m Quitting Action Movies in Two Years
Jaume Collet-Serra directed Run All Night for Warner Bros. Also starring Joel Kinnaman, Commonand Ed Harris, Run All Night stars Neeson as a hitman who is forced to take on his former boss in order to save his son. Despite an A- CinemaScore, part of the problem could have been that the film skewed female (52 percent), whereas it hoped to appeal heavily to males uninterested in Cinderella. More than 85 percent of ticket buyers were over age of 25.
Run All Night came in a meek No. 2, followed by formidable holdover Kingsman: The Secret Service, which grossed $6.2 million from 2,635 locations for a North American cume of $107.4 million.
Most box office experts show Focus and The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel following with $5.8 million and $5.7 million, respectively, but Sony’s estimates have Neill Blomkamp’s troubled Chappie tying with Focus.
Related: Lily James Defends Her Tiny ‘Cinderella’ Waist
Fifty Shades of Grey finished the weekend with a global cume of $546.5 million, including $385.1 million internationally, eclipsing Despicable Me ($544 million) to become the No. 10 Universal film of all time, not accounting for inflation.
Radius-TWC’s festival favorite It Follows scared up impressive business in its debut at the specialty box office, grossing $163,453 from four theaters in New York and Los Angeles for a location average of $40,863, the best of the weekend. David Robert Mitchell’s film boasts some of the best reviews in years for a horror title, and made its premiere at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival before making stops in Toronto and Sundance.
Watch an interview with Cinderella star Lily James below:
