# Maleficent (film) will be a box office bomb.
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maleficent-film-will-be-a-box-office-bomb/688296
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [May 12, 2014, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maleficent-film-will-be-a-box-office-bomb/688296 "2014-05-12T19:13:11Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@blueslipper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blueslipper)
#### Post date: [May 12, 2014, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maleficent-film-will-be-a-box-office-bomb/688296/1 "2014-05-12T19:13:11Z")
Just want my prediction on record- Maleficent (film) will not do well at the box office.
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### Author:  [@Sam\_Lowry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Lowry)
#### Post date: [May 12, 2014, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maleficent-film-will-be-a-box-office-bomb/688296/2 "2014-05-12T20:17:36Z")
Any particular reason you suspect this? I don’t see anything that indicates it will be an obvious failure. It could be a huge hit or a huge flop for all I know, I’m not great at predicting box office performance.
Also, how big of a bomb do you think it will be? A lot of films now are disappointments stateside but are profitable when worldwide grosses are taken into account.
I like Angelina Jolie and some of the other actors in the movie. I can’t really tell how good the movie is going to be though. I’ll probably wait until reviews are in before deciding to go see it.
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### Author:  [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)
#### Post date: [May 12, 2014, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maleficent-film-will-be-a-box-office-bomb/688296/3 "2014-05-12T20:21:33Z")
I’m gonna go see it and unless it’s absolutely godawful, I expect I’ll like it. Maleficent and Ursula have always been my favorite of the Disney villains and I’m always down for a good re-invention.
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### Author:  [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)
#### Post date: [May 12, 2014, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maleficent-film-will-be-a-box-office-bomb/688296/4 "2014-05-12T22:46:49Z")
Maleficent is one of Disney’s least impressive villains in one of their weakest fairy tale movies. But then, there are people who thing Darth Maul is a great villain. :rolleyes:
However, that will have no bearing on the success of the film.
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### Author:  [@PeskiPiksi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PeskiPiksi)
#### Post date: [May 12, 2014, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maleficent-film-will-be-a-box-office-bomb/688296/5 "2014-05-12T23:11:30Z")
I agree with you. Not really sure why. I wish there was some way to make money off of predicting box office hits and failures…I seem to have a sixth sense about these things.
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### Author:  [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)
#### Post date: [May 12, 2014, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maleficent-film-will-be-a-box-office-bomb/688296/6 "2014-05-12T23:15:58Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#):
>
> I’m gonna go see it and unless it’s absolutely godawful, I expect I’ll like it. Maleficent and Ursula have always been my favorite of the Disney villains and I’m always down for a good re-invention.
I always found her the scariest, probably because of the scene where the goblins are dancing around the fire. It was “Hell” for me for a lot of years (I didn’t really believe in Hell, but that was the picture I conjured up mentally when someone used the term).
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### Author:  [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)
#### Post date: [May 12, 2014, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maleficent-film-will-be-a-box-office-bomb/688296/7 "2014-05-12T23:21:29Z")
I wouldn’t be surprised if it broke $300M worldwide. It’s a high-budget film, but it has pretty good odds of breaking even after DVD sales and video on demand.
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### Author:  [@JKilez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKilez)
#### Post date: [May 12, 2014, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maleficent-film-will-be-a-box-office-bomb/688296/8 "2014-05-12T23:21:49Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#):
>
> Maleficent is one of Disney’s least impressive villains in one of their weakest fairy tale movies.
But, as played by Angelina Jolie, damn does she have screen presence. Zowie!
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### Author:  [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)
#### Post date: [May 12, 2014, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maleficent-film-will-be-a-box-office-bomb/688296/9 "2014-05-12T23:48:11Z")
FWIW, my daughters, 2 tweens and a teen, have already started lobbying to see this opening weekend.
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### Author:  [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)
#### Post date: [May 13, 2014, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maleficent-film-will-be-a-box-office-bomb/688296/10 "2014-05-13T00:10:40Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#):
>
> Maleficent is one of Disney’s least impressive villains in one of their weakest fairy tale movies.
Wow. She’s actually my number one favorite of the animated fairy tale villains.
I’d be interested to hear who you think the best ones are. None of them were scary to me the way she was.
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### Author:  [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)
#### Post date: [May 13, 2014, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maleficent-film-will-be-a-box-office-bomb/688296/11 "2014-05-13T00:53:42Z")
Is it a “reform the character” revision, like “Wicked?” Can anyone point to some pre-release spoilers?
I do intend to see the movie…but, to be honest, I’d like to know a lot more about it before I see it. I’ll probably wait till it’s been out a couple weeks and read all the spoilers I can find.
Anyway, the trailer looked good. And in the original (Disney) “Sleeping Beauty” that dragon was (heh) Fantasmic! One of the best movie dragons ever.
(But it did make me sad, watching the movie years later, as an adult, how stupid her goblin lackeys are. Geez! You just can’t get good evil minions these days! If she’d hired competent labor, she’d have conquered the world.)
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### Author:  [@bobkitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobkitty)
#### Post date: [May 13, 2014, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maleficent-film-will-be-a-box-office-bomb/688296/12 "2014-05-13T00:56:04Z")
Yeah, I’m going to have to disagree. Angie’s first film role in three years (four if you don’t count voice work); an executive producer who worked on many of Disney’s best movies; a re-telling that makes a well-known villain sympathetic which is a recipe for a blockbuster (Wicked, I’m looking at you…); premiering on the 55th anniversary of Sleeping Beauty… it’s got too much going for it. It’s Stromberg’s first directing shot, but he’s won two Academy Awards, so he’s no slouch.
And I’m not just saying all this cause she’s my favorite villain. She turns into A FREAKING DRAGON. How can you not love her??
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### Author:  [@Lobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobot)
#### Post date: [May 13, 2014, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maleficent-film-will-be-a-box-office-bomb/688296/13 "2014-05-13T00:58:35Z")
_Sleeping Beauty_ and _Alice in Wonderland_ are my two favourite animated Disney features. Linda Woolverton already butchered the latter, and the film made a killing (though that was surely in part due to the post-_Avatar_ 3D fad). I imagine _Maleficent_ will do decent business at the very least.
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### Author:  [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)
#### Post date: [May 13, 2014, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maleficent-film-will-be-a-box-office-bomb/688296/14 "2014-05-13T01:39:12Z")
> [@Lobot](#):
>
> _Sleeping Beauty_ and _Alice in Wonderland_ are my two favourite animated Disney features.
The story is not the best, but the style of the animation and the music! How can you go wrong with a Tchaikovsky score?
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### Author:  [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)
#### Post date: [May 13, 2014, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maleficent-film-will-be-a-box-office-bomb/688296/15 "2014-05-13T02:11:36Z")
> [@bobkitty](#):
>
> it’s got too much going for it.
I’d say the one and only worry (other than bad word-of-mouth if it sucks) is the old formula of “Girls will go to the movie their boyfriend wants to see but boys won’t go to see the movie that their girlfriend wants to see”. It’s a problem every female lead movie has to deal with.
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### Author:  [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)
#### Post date: [May 13, 2014, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maleficent-film-will-be-a-box-office-bomb/688296/16 "2014-05-13T02:27:51Z")
Have you seen the trailer? Action, special effects, and while I’ve never been a big Jolie fan, a main character who is, shall we say, in a dominitrixish sort of way, fun to watch? (What can I say, strong females are sexy.)
Boys will want to see this movie.
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### Author:  [@dzeiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dzeiger)
#### Post date: [May 13, 2014, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maleficent-film-will-be-a-box-office-bomb/688296/17 "2014-05-13T02:37:50Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#):
>
> Maleficent is one of Disney’s least impressive villains in one of their weakest fairy tale movies. But then, there are people who thing Darth Maul is a great villain. :rolleyes:
>
> However, that will have no bearing on the success of the film.
Really? Most Disney fans I’ve seen expressing their opinion generally rate her among or as their favorite. She has the lead villain role among the Disney characters in the Kingdom Hearts game, and is the “final boss” of the Fantasmic show. I’ve probably seen more Maleficent fan art than I have of the next two or three villains combined.
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### Author:  [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)
#### Post date: [May 13, 2014, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maleficent-film-will-be-a-box-office-bomb/688296/18 "2014-05-13T02:37:56Z")
I have zero interest in it, but there seems to be a pretty big market for rehashes of classic Disney characters, so I’d guess it’ll do well.
Plus big-budget kids films do well, and a lot of parents would probably watch Maleficent then Alvin and the Chipmunks VIII.
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### Author:  [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)
#### Post date: [May 13, 2014, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maleficent-film-will-be-a-box-office-bomb/688296/19 "2014-05-13T02:40:01Z")
> [@DSeid](#):
>
> Have you seen the trailer? Action, special effects, and while I’ve never been a big Jolie fan, a main character who is, shall we say, in a dominitrixish sort of way, fun to watch? (What can I say, strong females are sexy.)
>
> Boys will want to see this movie.
Yeah, I’ve seen the trailer. They’re definitely shouting at the top of their lungs “Hey, BOYS, this movie is for you too!!!” And they’re hitting that message so hard precisely because it’s a difficult demographic for a female lead movie to capture.
This movie isn’t selling sex the way the _Resident Evil_ series or the _Underworld_ series or other “Female Lead . . . but for adolescent boys’ fantasies” did.
I’m not saying they’re _not_ going to get boys in to see this movie. I’m just saying that, with as much as this film has going for it, that is the only significant uphill battle that I can see.
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### Author:  [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)
#### Post date: [May 13, 2014, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maleficent-film-will-be-a-box-office-bomb/688296/20 "2014-05-13T03:10:50Z")
> [@DSeid](#):
>
> Have you seen the trailer? Action, special effects, and while I’ve never been a big Jolie fan, a main character who is, shall we say, in a dominitrixish sort of way, fun to watch? (What can I say, strong females are sexy.)
>
> Boys will want to see this movie.
Not this one. The action and special effects look a hell of a lot more Narnia than any action I’d be excited to see. I don’t expect Game of Thrones from a Disney princess movie, but it looks exactly like the sort of thoroughly harmless action that makes The Hobbit look like a Tarantino flick by comparison.
What it looks like to me is yet another fractured fairytale pave-over like and Snow White and The Huntsman. It’ll do all right numbers, and likely get around 50% on Rotten Tomatoes. If anything, I think my prediction is optimistic. Flat out bombing wouldn’t be a surprise. It’s plainly too dark for the little girl demo.
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