Movie

Disney's live-action take on the famous fairytale easily wins over fellow newcomer 'Run All Night', which stars Liam Neeson, with more than $50 million gap.

• Mar 16, 2015

AceShowbiz - "Cinderella" successfully charmed moviegoers in its debut weekend. Disney's live-action take on the classic tale grossed an estimated $70.1 million, easily winning over fellow newcomer "Run All Night" with more than $59 million at North American box office.

The movie starring Lily James has a bigger opening than Disney's "Maleficent" ($69.4 million) despite the fact that the 2014 movie has a more famous female lead, Angelina Jolie. Overseas, the film raked in $62.4 million for a worldwide total of $132.5 million.

Attached to the screenings of "Cinderella" is animated short "Frozen Fever", which features the "Frozen (2013)" characters. This provided a double dose of family entertainment, especially after a string of R-rated films in recent weeks.

" 'Cinderella' and 'Frozen Fever' enticed a lot of families into the theaters, an irresistible draw in a marketplace which has been pretty desolate for them," says Paul Dergarabedian, box office analyst for Rentrak. "It's pretty much a fairy-tale box office weekend for Disney."

"Run All Night", the latest action flick starring Liam Neeson, enters the chart at No. 2 with an estimated $11 million. It's a weak debut compared to Neeson's "Tak3n", which opened to $39.2 million in January.

Jeff Bock, box office analyst for Exhibitor Relations, says, "Fatigue is finally setting in on Liam Neeson's action career. Since 'Taken' (2008), you can only put out so many films that seem exactly the same. But he's had an amazing run."

Moving up one place from last week, "Kingsman: The Secret Service" is now at No. 3 with approximately $6.2 million or dropping only 25.4|percent|. "Focus" loses two spots, placing fourth with an estimated $5.805 million. Trailing behind the con movie starring Will Smith and Margot Robbie with a small gap is last week's champion "Chappie, which adds an estimated $5.8 million to its total gross.

1. "Cinderella" - $70.1 million
2. "Run All Night" - $11 million
3. "Kingsman: The Secret Service" - $5.805 million
4. "Focus" - $8.3 million
5. "Chappie" - $5.8 million
6. "The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" - $5.7 million
7. "The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water" - $4.1 million
8. "McFarland, USA" - $3.7 million
9. "American Sniper" - $2.93 million
10. "The DUFF" - $2.9 million