Maleficent 2 Wins Weekend Box Office with $36M, Zombieland 2 Also Scores Big

It was a big weekend for sequels, with Maleficent: Mistress of Evil coming in first place. Joker slid into second place, with Zombieland: Double Tap doing better than expected in third. Maleficent: Mistress of Evil was actually a bit soft in its opening, only pulling in $36 million. A couple of indie movies also did well this weekend, with Neon’s Parasite, A24’s The Lighthouse and Fox Searchlight’s Jojo Rabbit all arriving with a strong debut in limited release.

Disney was expecting a little more from their Maleficent sequel at the box office this weekend. The domestic total arrives at nearly half of what the original made in 2014, debuting at $69.4 million. Those who did watch the sequel apparently enjoyed Angelina Jolie’s return as the Dark Fey. Audiences have given the movie an ‘A’ CinemaScore. It also has a 96% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Maleficent: Mistress of Evil opened simultaneous in all major markets overseas. There it earned an extra $117 million, which makes its global tally $153 million, so you can pretty much call it a hit out of the gate, despite fewer people opting to see it in the states. Chinese audiences spent $22.4 million on tickets this weekend. Russia paid $10.7 million, Mexico pulled in $7.8 million, with Italy at $4.7 million, Korea at $4.6 million, Brazil at $4.5 million, UK nabbing $4.3 million, France with $3.9 million, Thailand at $3.7 million, Philippines with $3.5 million, Germany at $3.4 million and Spain bring up the rear with $3.2 million.

Related: Maleficent: Mistress of Evil Trailer Has Angelina Jolie & Michelle Pfeiffer at War

Joker continues to be a big blockbuster hit, and is well on its way to becoming the highest grossing R-rated movie of all time. In its third weekend of release, it only saw an audience dip of 48%. It has earned an additional $29.2 million in the states. That puts its total at $247 million. Overseas, it pulled in an additional $77.8 million, and now sits at $737.5 million worldwide. Not bad for a standalone DC Comics movie about a villain descending into madness with no superheroes in sight.

Ten years in the making, the sequel Zombieland Double Tap lands in third place with a higher than expected take of $26.7 million over the three day weekend. It arrives with bigger debut numbers than the original, which pulled in $24.7 way back in 2009. This latest adventure with Tallahassee, Columbus, Wichita and Little Rock earned a ‘B+’ CinemaScore. The zombie-infested follow-up is playing in 17 overseas markets, where it pulled in an additional $5 million.

The Addams Family animated comedy comes in at number four in its second weekend at the box office, earning an additional $16.05 million. That puts its domestic total at $56.8 million over the course of ten days. Rounding out the top five is Gemini Man, which fell off -59% in its second weekend of release. It nabbed just $8.5 million, working off a staggering $138 million budget. We may have to chalk this one up as a bomb. It has only made $36.5 million in the states thus far. Overseas, the movie fared better with $33.4 million, with $21 million of that coming from opening day in China. The movie has made $118.7 million worldwide.

Rounding out the top five is Paramount’s Gemini Man dipping -59% as it kicks off its sophomore frame with an estimated $8.5 million for a domestic cume that now stands at $36.5 million. Internationally, the film brought in an estimated $33.4 million this weekend, the bulk of which comes from a $21 million opening in China. The film’s overseas cume now stands at $82.2 million for a global total reaching $118.7 million.

Abominable is in sixth place with $3.5 million in its 4th weekend of release, its domestic total standing at $53.9 million. Downton Abbey lands at number 7 with another $3.08 million, becoming Focus Feature’s highest grossing movie ever. The movie has earned $88.6 million total domestically. Judy slides into the 8th spot with another $2.05 million for a domestic total of $19 million thus far. In at number 9 is Hustlers with $2.05 million as well. It’s a certified hit with $101.8 million. And in at number 10 is horror blockbuster IT: Chapter Two with an additional $1.5 million added to its domestic total of $209 million.

Parasite arrives just outside the top ten, earning $1.2 million in just 33 theaters. A24’s The Lighthouse also had a strong showing playing at just 8 locations, earning $419,764. It will go wider next weekend, arriving in 500 theaters. And then we have Jojo Rabbit, the movie about a boy and his imaginary friend Hitler. It played in just five locations with earnings of $350,000. These numbers come in from Box Office Mojo.

Topics: Maleficent 2, Maleficent, Zombieland 2, Box Office