Everyone is at Fault!
Moviegoers ditched traditional summer material this weekend in favor of something a bit more dramatic, putting THE FAULT IN OUR STARS at the top of the box office with $48.2 million!
The adaptation of John Green's bestselling novel got almost as big a jump as actress Shailene Woodley's previous young-adult adaptation DIVERGENT, which just opened in March with $54.6 million (and went on to $267 million worldwide).
The teen cancer romance was a hit with critics (82% on Rotten Tomatoes) and paying crowds (straight 'A' CinemaScore), but we'll see how sturdy the heartbreaker can hold up against the summer's continual onslaught of huge releases every weekend.
Last week's conqueror MALEFICENT shifted to second place with $33.6 million, a drop of around 51% from its opening weekend. Disney's live-action fairy tale prequel is up to $127.6 million dometic, with a global total of $335 million.
Woodley's ailments and Jolie's villainy were apparently more appealing than Tom Cruise's time-looping troubles. The A-list actor's new sci-fi war movie EDGE OF TOMORROW opened in third place with $29.1 million despite really solid reviews (89% on Rotten Tomatoes), although audience reaction only prompted a 'B+' CinemaScore.
Whether it was the tough-sell premise or just early blockbuster fatigue, the costly PG-13 action movie ($175+ million) opened even lower than Cruise's last big-budget sci-fi release OBLIVION ($37 million), which failed to crack $100 million domestic but when on to a $286.2 million worldwide total.
EDGE OF TOMORROW (it's unlikely the original novel title ALL YOU NEED IS KILL would have helped much) has already been in front of some international crowds for an extra week and has brought in an additional $111 million, but perhaps Cruise's global appeal is waning. Time for another MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE!
Coming in fourth was Fox's all-mutant hoedown X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST with $14.7 million and $189.1 million total after three weeks in theaters — still lagging behind X2 and THE LAST STAND domestically, but easily the biggest of the X-franchise worldwide with $609 million.
Seth MacFarlane's R-rated Western comedy A MILLION WAYS TO DIE IN THE WEST got kicked to fifth with $7.1 million, down 57% from its limp opening last week. The gunslinging yuks were followed by GODZILLA with $5.9 million, although the King of Monsters is starting to drag his feet as he approaches $400 million worldwide.
NEIGHBORS, BLENDED and CHEF all wrestled with each other to amuse audiences, although Jon Favreau's food-truck comedy seems to be getting the most fuel from word-of-mouth (and hungry ticket-buyers). The sports drama MILLION DOLLAR ARM closed out the list, while THE OTHER WOMAN departed the chart with THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2 (still groping for $700 million worldwide).
Next weekend has new sequel offerings on opposite ends of the spectrum: family crowds will undoubtedly flock to the CG-animated HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2, while grown-ups get R-rated laughs from Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill in 22 JUMP STREET. In limited release are the dystopian action-drama THE ROVER, the thriller THE SIGNAL, and the Aaron Paul drama HELLION.
What is your all-time favorite R-rated comedy? VOTE HERE!
| # | MOVIE TITLE | WKND $ | TOTAL $ |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Fault in our Stars | $48.2 M | NEW |
| 2 | Maleficent | $33.5 M | $127.3 M |
| 3 | Edge of Tomorrow | $29.1 M | NEW |
| 4 | X-Men: Days of Future Past | $14.7 M | $189.1 M |
| 5 | A Million Ways to Die in the West | $7.1 M | $30 M |
| 6 | Neighbors | $5.2 M | $137.8 M |
| 7 | Godzilla | $5.9 M | $185 M |
| 8 | Blended | $4 M | $36.5 M |
| 9 | Chef | $2.6 M | $10.3 M |
| 10 | Million Dollar Arm | $1.8 M | $31.3 M |