It's been almost four years since Angelina Jolie appeared in a movie, but this weekend she cast a spell that made movie audiences empty their wallets.
Maleficent, the updated take on Disney's Sleeping Beauty story, exceeded expectations by bringing in $70 million at the box office to win its opening weekend by a mile.
It was the biggest opening of Jolie's career, and proved that she's still a box-office draw. She hasn't starred in a live action movie since 2010's The Tourist.
The PG-rated Maleficent tells the story from the magical villain's twisted perspective (we knew that chick had issues), and also starsElle Fanning in the Princess Aurora role.
Meanwhile, Seth McFarlane seems to have failed to repeat the wild success of his film debut, Ted, with his follow-up, A Million Ways To Die In The West. The R-rated comedy opened to a weak $17.1 million and fairly dismal reviews (the reviews for Maleficent weren't much better).
X-Men: Days of Future Past dropped to the No. 2 spot in its second week, bringing in $32.6 million.
