Shailene Woodley kicked Tom Cruise's ass this weekend as The Fault In Our Stars opened to $48.2M after a huge $26M Friday night. The film had a huge built-in audience thanks to author John Green's ubiquitous social media presence, and that the book has been a best-seller for months, but I think how well the film did will come as a bigger surprise to older audiences who might have expected Cruise to rule the day. Only a handful of films into her career and Woodley has established herself as a critical and box office darling. She already has a franchise in Divergent to call her own, and the dramatic credentials to possibly contend for awards down the line.
2. Maleficent- $33.5M/$127.3M
Angelina Jolie's Maleficent held on well enough, slipping only 52% from last week. That's not bad considering the competition from two new films targeting its core audience. Disney has to be pleased, especially with an additional $208M overseas giving the film $335M in only two weeks.
3. Edge of Tomorrow- $29.1M
On the other hand, sci-fi continues to not be Tom Cruise's friend at the box office, at least not domestically. Edge of Tomorrow opened at $29.1M, trailing the $37M debut of Oblivion, which didn't do so hot either. At this point Cruise is more of a global star than he is here in America as the film racked up an impressive $60M on the international scene, and should help put a dent in the $175M+ budget, the most expensive of Cruise's lengthy career.
4. X-men: Days of Future Past- $14.7M/$189.1M
5. A Million Ways to Die in the West- $7.1M/$30M
6. Godzilla- $5.9M/$185M
7. Neighbors- $5.2M/$137.8M
8. Blended- $4M/$36.5M
9. Chef- $2.6M/$10.3M
Bolstered by strong reviews and a lot of help from his celebrity pals, Jon Favreau's Chef continues to be an art house sleeper, jumping up 36% in expanded release.
10. Million Dollar Arm- $1.8M/$31.3M
