Disney struck gold again this weekend with Cinderella , the new modern twist on a classic tale. The film, starring Lily James and Cate Blanchett, won the weekend with a whopping $70 million dollar opening at the box office. Not only did it soar to number 1, but it held strong against films like Liam Neeson’s Run All Night and The Kingsman .
According to Deadline , Cinderella is Disney’s third-best opening film. The top spot belongs to Disney’s Alice in Wonderland , which took in $116.4 million, and Oz the Great and Powerful made $79.1 million on its opening weekend.
As for Cinderella’s success Disney’s, distribution chief Dave Hollis simply stated, “The key to adapting a beloved property remains its sense of originality, in this instance you have a compelling story with a strong, contemporary female protagonist. It’s the live version of a classic you think you know.”
He continued, “Disney’s marketing department created an event for a popular brand with urgency and drive. Because of the materials from the delicious stepmother to the romance between Cinderella and the prince; when you put all these different components together, you’re driving a film to high heights.”
From the looks of it, director Kenneth Branagh nailed it. In terms of numbers, Cinderella is his highest opening weekend, and beats his other successful film, Marvel’s Thor , which raked in $65.7 million at the box office during its opening weekend.
As for critical reception, Cinderella seemed like it was destined to shine this weekend. The Los Angeles Times raved about the way the film catered to all audiences without preaching.
“No sly asides, no double entendres and nary a hint of modern-day gender politics dilute this poetically, if not prophetically, imagined storybook fable embraced in toto by director Kenneth Branagh. If you can content yourself with a little enchantment and little enlightenment, ‘Cinderella’ succeeds.”
As for how the other movies fared this weekend, according to Box Office Mojo , while Cinderella had a strong opening weekend, Run All Night didn’t turn out the usual Liam Neeson numbers and opened with $11 million. The Kingsman went up a spot to No. 3 with $6,200,000 while the Will Smith and Margot Robbie action film Focus dropped two spots down from the No. 2 spot to No. 4, earning $5,508,000 for the weekend, with a total of $44 million for its second week at the box office. Chappie rounded out the top five with $5 million.
What movie did you check out this weekend?
[Image via Disney]
