Disney 'Cinderella' Movie Updates: Will Opening Influence Disney to Make Live Action Versions of 'Aladdin,' 'Mulan,' 'The Little Mermaid'?
This weekend, "Cinderella" won the box office and demonstrated once again that Disney has a huge audience for these new live-action adaptation.
The film made $70 million in three days and became the third highest opening for a Disney live action film. "Cinderella" differed from the past three Disney films as it did not open in 3D and instead went to IMAX theaters. This made up for the surcharge that 3D films have in theaters.
The opening is a big surprise for the feature, which was anticipated to open with $60 million. It was also surprising given the cast, which is not as well known. Lily James and Richard Madden, who are the protagonists, come from TV, and the best-known actress in the film is the Oscar-winning actress Cate Blanchett.
The latest film made $1 million more than "Maleficent," which opened last year to $69.4 million and starred Angelina Jolie. "Cinderella," however, could not reach the heights of "Alice in Wonderland" and "Oz The Great and Powerful."
However, "Cinderella" was relatively cheaper than the past three films as it only cost $95 million. Compare that budget to that of "Maleficent" ($180 million), "Oz the Great and Powerful" ($215 million) and "Alice in Wonderland" ($200 million).
The "Cinderella" opening was also impressive given the fact the movie is not as heavily CG- driven as the other three films. The movie also has a great following especially since the story has been recreated several times for the film and the original animated film is extremely popular. It also helped that the movie received rave reviews and had an 84 percent aggregate score on Rotten Tomatoes. The film received the best reviews of any other film in Disney's live-action adaptation. "Maleficent," "Alice in Wonderland" and "Oz The Great and Powerful" all received mixed reviews.
Like "Maleficent," women once again proved that they are big forces in cinemas. The audience from this weekend was made of 66 percent women, which was slightly higher than "Maleficent" last year.
With these surging numbers, Disney's new film is likely to end with $200 million and may be one of the more profitable projects.
It also puts the company's upcoming live action adaptation in good standings when they open. The company has plans to release "The Jungle Book" next year with Scarlett Johansson, Lupita Nyong'o, Idris Elba, Bill Murray, Christopher Walken, Ben Kingsley and will be directed by Jon Favreau.
It will also film "Beauty and the Beast" with Emma Watson, Luke Evans and Dan Stevens. The company also announced that Tim Burton will direct an adaptation of "Dumbo" and will also release a sequel to "Alice in Wonderland."
Disney currently has a number of franchises, which it gears towards certain audiences. The company is making its animated films through Pixar and Disney animation while it is making its superhero movies with Marvel. The company also bought "Star Wars," and it has plans of rebooting "Indiana Jones."
With the success of it past four live-action adaptations, Disney will likely continue to make these films and before audiences know it the company will be making plans for "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," "The Lion King," "Aladdin," "The Little Mermaid," "Pocahontas" and even "Mulan." It is to early to predict, but based on the company's trajectory anything is possible.
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