MANILA, June 2, 2014 – Disney's “Maleficent” bewitched the Philippine box office well beyond expectations for a No.1 finish, taking in an enchanted P179.9-million in five days nationwide for the May 28 to June 1 weekend. This according to the local office of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International, the film's distributor.

That opening gross is the year's second-biggest, bested only by last April's “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” (P251-M) but higher than “X-Men: Days of Future Past” (P175-M) which bowed last week.

Powered by positive word-of-mouth from audiences, “Maleficent” opened tremendously huge that it already surpassed the lifetime revenues of Disney's biggest non-Marvel titles, namely “Prince of Persia” (P156-M), “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End” (P155-M) and “Alice in Wonderland” (P140-M).

The “Sleeping Beauty” companion film also shattered the record for Biggest Opening Weekend for an Angelina Jolie Live-Action Movie Ever, likewise smashing the lifetime grosses of “Salt” (P131-M), “Wanted” (P95-M) and “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” (P83-M).

Overseas, “Maleficent” also reigned over the weekend box office, debuting to a magical $70 million domestically (U.S.) and $100.6 million internationally.

The film's stateside figure ranks as a record domestic debut for Jolie, edging out “Kung Fu Panda” ($60.2-M), “Wanted” ($50.9-M) and “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” ($50.3-M).

Back in the Philippines, the fairytale-based adventure reeled off in 264 screens (including 8 IMAX) in 122 locations. SM North EDSA garnered the largest share of box-office receipts with P8.41-M, followed closely by SM Mall of Asia (P8.29-M), SM Megamall (P8.06-M), SM Cebu (P7.09-M) and Trinoma (P6.19-M.)

Impressive grosses were also posted by Glorietta 4 (P4.74-M), Ayala Cebu (P4.07-M), Bonifacio High Street (P4.03-M), SM Aura (P3.47-M) and Alabang Town Center (P3.39-M).

Rounding up the Top 20 cinemas are Newport City (P3.33-M), Eastwood (P3.05-M), SM Southmall (P2.97-M), Power Plant (P2.96-M), Greenbelt 3 (P2.85-M), Greenhills Promenade (P2.82-M), SM Fairview (P2.57-M), Gateway (P2.56-M), SM Clark (P2.49-M) and Market! Market! (P2.48-M).

“Maleficent”explores the untold story of Disney’s most iconic villain from the classic “Sleeping Beauty” and the elements of her betrayal that ultimately turn her pure heart to stone. Driven by revenge and a fierce desire to protect the moors over which she presides, Maleficent cruelly places an irrevocable curse upon the human king’s newborn infant Aurora. As the child grows, Aurora is caught in the middle of the seething conflict between the forest kingdom she has grown to love and the human kingdom that holds her legacy. Maleficent realizes that Aurora may hold the key to peace in the land and is forced to take drastic actions that will change both worlds forever.

The film stars Angelina Jolie as Maleficent, Sharlto Copley, Elle Fanning, Sam Riley, Imelda Staunton, Juno Temple and Lesley Manville.

Now playing across the Philippines in 3D, 2D, MAX 3D and 4DX formats, “Maleficent” is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International through Columbia Pictures.

Angelina Jolie in the role of the title character of Disney's new fantasy adventure “Maleficent” was a decision made somewhere far above the normal casting confines.

“Even before I became involved with this project, I’d heard Angelina’s name attached and I thought, ‘What perfect casting,’” recalls director Robert Stromberg. “You can just look at her picture and Maleficent’s image and see it is a marriage made in heaven.”

“I loved Maleficent when I was a little girl,” says Jolie. “She was my favorite Disney character. I was afraid of her and I loved her.

“I was really moved by the script from first reading,” adds Jolie on why she accepted the part. “It was like uncovering a great mystery. We all know the story of ‘Sleeping Beauty’ and we all know Maleficent and what happened at the christening because we’ve all grown up with that. But what we’ve neverknown is, what happened before?”

“Maleficent” explores the untold story of Disney's most iconic villain from the classic “Sleeping Beauty" and the elements of her betrayal that ultimately turn her pure heart to stone. Driven by revenge and a fierce desire to protect the moors over which she presides, Maleficent cruelly places an irrevocable curse upon the human king's newborn infant Aurora. As the child grows, Aurora is caught in the middle of the seething conflict between the forest kingdom she has grown to love and the human kingdom that holds her legacy. Maleficent realizes that Aurora may hold the key to peace in the land and is forced to take drastic actions that will change both worlds forever.

Maleficent is a complex character with many layers; she is driven by revenge yet she fiercely protects the land she loves and all who dwell there. Speaking of the character and what she would like audiences to take away, Jolie says, “I hope the girls, especially, will see the importance of having a sense of justice and a sense of what’s fair and what’s worth fighting for. They’ll see that they can be warriors and atthe same time soft and feminine and deeply feeling, with all the complexities women have.”

Working with Angelina Jolie was an “incredible” experience for co-star Sharlto Copley who plays Stefan. “Just meeting her right from the beginning, from the rehearsal stage, we have a similar energy and similar intensity in our work,” comments Copley. “We communicate in a similar way as well. She’s very smart about story and about filmmaking. She’s not just an actress; she directs as well and is very aware of the whole film and all aspects of the film and what’s going on. I felt very privileged, very honored, to get the chance to do this film with her.”

Having the opportunity to work with Jolie was also exciting for teenaged actress, Elle Fannig who portrays Princess Aurora. “It’s really been amazing,” enthuses Fanning. “I remember meeting her for the first time in London. I had never met her before, and she gave me a big hug. She said we were just going to have so much fun together. And we did have a lot of fun. It’s been great.”

Actor Sam Riley who plays Diaval, Maleficent's loyal companion agrees that “Angelina’s absolutely perfectly cast and you can’t really imagine anybody else working today in the part. Also the fact that she is who she is lends this grandness to it.”

Stromberg concludes, “Angelina is a really hard worker, very dedicated. She took on this role and just commanded it and took charge. It’s exciting to have someone with that much passion working side by side with me on the character. She embraced it and really became Maleficent.”

Opening across the Philippines on May 28 in 3D, 2D and IMAX 3D formats, “Maleficent” is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International through Columbia Pictures.

  Robert Stromberg, who won Oscars® for production design for both “Avatar”and “Alice in Wonderland,” steps up to the plate to direct his first feature film, Disney’s “Maleficent.” About taking on the large-scale project, Stromberg says, “I think as an artist you’re always looking for the biggest canvas you can find and it was yet another big canvas to conquer. I thought it was intriguing and fascinating to take on something that was bigger than something I had already done; it was a challenge.”

Stromberg was excited about taking on directorial duties and creating a vision for the film. He says, “Luckily for me, there are a few big projects in the rearview mirror, so I was actually more excited than nervous about any of this, including working with Angelina Jolie. I’m the luckiest guy in the world to have the opportunity to do a project of this size, so why not take that and make the most beautiful thing that I can make out of it that the world might respond to in a new and exciting way?”

Stromberg feels that “Maleficent” gives audiences “an opportunity to find out the history of Maleficent and find out where she came from and what pushed her to the point where we all know her to be. So we get to not only see her when she was a child, but what she went through that drove her to the dark side.”

Director Stromberg and screenwriter Linda Woolverton were in agreement that they wanted to start off the story seeing Maleficent as a young child. “We actually get close to her right off the bat in the beginning of the film, and then we see how she meets Stefan,” says Stromberg. “Stefan and young Maleficent form a bond together early on in the film and so we get to see how that tragically widens over the film as they split and how they, over time, become enemies.”

With Angelina Jolie cast as Maleficent, Stromberg could not be happier. “Angelina Jolie is obviously perfect for the role,” comments Stromberg. “It’s the perfect marriage of actress and role in my opinion in a long time, and I think that ‘Maleficent’ will take us to a place where the audience will have fun seeing where she came from. There’s a lot of dark and a lot of light and there’s even humor in this film. There’s a little bit of something for everybody.”

Everyone familiar with Disney’s classic “Sleeping Beauty” knows what the animated Maleficent looked like, so getting the look right for the live-action film was important to both Stromberg and Angelina Jolie. “Angelina was really passionate about not only who the character was, but what the character looked like,” says Stromberg. “We worked together to come up with a character that wasn’t that stereotype image but was close enough that people would immediately know her to be Maleficent. We see Maleficent through different stages in her life and several types of looks up to the point where we see her as the iconic image that we all know.”

Stromberg set out to bring his vision and the magic touch of his designs to “Maleficent” and relates how he approached the task, saying, “The other projects that I've done have a certain look to them and what I wanted to do on this film is not only have an element of fantasy and a surreal quality, but also make ‘Maleficent’ a bit more grounded in reality. In my other films, I’ve always taken the surreal elements and made them the strongest points and in ‘Maleficent’ we’ve started with real and are augmenting after the fact. It’s a new look.”

Research for the look of the film involved looking at a lot of reference materials. “In this case, I looked at a lot of classic paintings done by artists in the 17th century and 18th century, like The Hudson River School artists who just went out and painted landscapes that they heightened a bit,” says Stromberg. “So that became interesting to me, to create this classic look that has mostly realism in it and see where we could push that. It’s actually turned out to be something that’s quite elegant and beautiful but yet you get the sense that there’s fantasy involved.”

It was also important to Stromberg as a director to have enough of the elements of the 1959 animated “Sleeping Beauty” so that people will not be disappointed. “It was important that those people who recognize and are fans of the original classic film feel that they can not only see it realized in a new light but also see the genesis of some of those things that they saw in the original film,”explains Stromberg. “So it’s a new spin on Maleficent but at the same time we’ve woven in enough elements that people will immediately recognize it to be from the original film Sleeping Beauty.”

On completing his first directing job, Stromberg remarks, “I personally had a great time working with the actors, just opening up a new door for myself in communication and how that relates to the timing of other things and how art crosses over into the performances. For the first time, I’ve seen all the colors on the palette and that makes me really happy.”

Robert Stromberg hopes “that people who see this film will be not only thoroughly entertained but also feel that they have been immersed in a world and in a story that they wanted to stay in.”

Opening across the Philippines on May 28 in 3D, 2D and IMAX 3D, “Maleficent”is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International through Columbia Pictures.

Starting May 28, Philippine audiences will find themselves face-to-face with Disney’s most iconic villain “Maleficent” on an exciting adventure through a fascinating world that will unveil more about the film's characters than they ever imagined. But before that, let's meet the characters up close and find out their motivations.

        Maleficent (Angelina Jolie) benevolently protects her home—the forest kingdom over which she presides—and all the creatures that dwell there, but a harsh betrayal turns Maleficent’s pure heart stone cold. Driven by relentless revenge and a fierce passion to protect her land from invaders, the now vindictive and ruthless Maleficent places an irrevocable curse on the human king’s newborn baby, Aurora.

Stefan (Sharlto Copley) is a childhood friend of Maleficent’s who comes from the human kingdom outside of the forest Maleficent calls home. Over time Stefan becomes consumed with his ambition to be King and will stop at nothing to achieve his goal.

Diaval (Sam Riley) is Maleficent’s loyal servant, who, on her command, can take on different forms to suit her purposes. He serves as Maleficent’s conscience and has strong beliefs, which he is not afraid to act upon.

Aurora (Elle Fanning) is a curious and thoughtful child who develops a bond with nature that rivals only Maleficent’s. But as she grows, Aurora is caught in the middle of the seething conflict between the forest kingdom she has grown to love and the human kingdom that holds her legacy.

The Flower Pixies. The three inept Flower Pixies are charged with caring for Aurora until her sixteenth birthday. Knotgrass (Imelda Staunton) is a tangled knot of bad humor, bossy and a superior to the other two Pixies. Flittle (Lesley Manville) is a blue Flower Pixie. She always has butterflies flying around her head. Thistlewit (Juno Temple), the youngest of the Pixies, is always giddy, playful and childlike.

King Henry (Kenneth Cranham). Before the end of his reign, conniving King Henry is determined to add the forest kingdom that Maleficent protects to his conquests at any cost in order to reap the benefits of the treasures it contains.

Princess Leila (Hannah New). King Henry’s daughter Princess Leila loyally performs her duty as princess by marrying Stefan and bearing his daughter, Aurora.

Prince Phillip (Brenton Thwaites). Handsome Prince Phillip happens upon teenage Aurora as he is traveling to the castle to meet the king. He promises that they will soon meet again—it is love at first sight.

Opening across the Philippines on May 28, 2014, “Maleficent” is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International through Columbia Pictures.

The character Maleficent was a Disney creation first introduced in their 1959 animated feature “Sleeping Beauty.” But the story of the princess who falls under a spell of eternal sleep has been told since the beginning of fairy-tale time.

The story of Sleeping Beauty evolved—under different titles—over approximately 400 years (1000 if we count some overlapping elements from Medieval times). The early written origins of the story can be traced from the French novel “Perceforest” (author unknown) written in 1527 to a tale by Italian storyteller Giambattista Basile (1636) called “Sun, Moon & Talia” from a collection entitled “The Tale of Tales,” which is generally accepted as the first collection of fairy tales ever printed.

In 1697, a version of the story,“The Beauty Asleep in the Woods,” was published by Charles Perrault in his book, “The Tales of Mother Goose.” The Brothers Grimm borrowed heavily from this version in writing their own 1812 story of a beautiful princess awakened from a spell-induced slumber, “Little Briar Rose.”

The origins of Maleficent as a female personification of evil are less clear. Basile’s story casts a Queen as the jealous, vengeful villainess but she was married to the King and not an independent outsider who inflicts a curse on the royal family. The villainess was changed to a wicked fairy by Perrault, whose version was closest to Disney’s.Perrault also introduced the element of a handsome Prince whose kiss could break the spell.

So it fell to 20th-century writers and animators and actress Eleanor Audley to invent Maleficent for Disney’s classic “Sleeping Beauty.” The film took 10 years to make and cost $6 million. It was the most expensive movie the studio had produced to that point in time.

Maleficent remains both the favorite and the most feared character in Disney’s gallery of infamy. Now she returns in a live-action version of the classic story directed by Robert Stromberg and starring Angelina Jolie.

“It was important to me as a director to retain enough of the elements of ‘Sleeping Beauty’so that people who are fans of the original won’t be disappointed when they see this,” explains Stromberg. “I felt it was important that people not only see this classic character realized in a new light but also see the genesis of some of those story elements that they remember from the original film.”

To blend the old and new into a finished screenplay, Disney hired writer Linda Woolverton. “In my time at Disney both as an executive and as a producer, Linda Woolverton is the most important writer Disney has had,” says producer Joe Roth. “Over the past 20 years she’s written ‘Beauty and the Beast’ and ‘The Lion King’ in the animated area and ‘Alice in Wonderland’ in live action. More than any other writer, she has really kind of unlocked the notion of what a Disney film is.”

Woolverton began her process of discovering the secret life of Maleficent by watching Disney’s animated “Sleeping Beauty.” “After watching the movie, I came up with some ideas that revealed more about her character,” Woolverton explains. “I created a past for her that leads to the singular moment in which she curses the baby Aurora and then takes us past that moment from Maleficent’s point of view through the ending of the film. But it’s a reinvention; it’s not just a retelling of the same story.”

In addition to the challenge of reinventing a fairy tale that has been a staple of every childborn in the last 50 years, Woolverton had to honor both the iconic character that Disney created and the talented actress stepping into the role. “The character really is fantastic and once we had Angelina Jolie, my task was to seamlessly meld the two into one to recreate a classic, but wholly unique Maleficent,” concludes the writer.

Opening across the Philippines on May 28, 2014, “Maleficent” is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International through Columbia Pictures.

Disney has just released a new trailer for director Robert Stromberg’s fantasy-adventure “Maleficent” which may be viewed at http://youtu.be/28U4LxdkNWI.

“Maleficent” explores the untold story of Disney's most iconic villain from the classic “Sleeping Beauty" and the elements of her betrayal that ultimately turn her pure heart to stone. Driven by revenge and a fierce desire to protect the moors over which she presides, Maleficent cruelly places an irrevocable curse upon the human king's newborn infant Aurora. As the child grows, Aurora is caught in the middle of the seething conflict between the forest kingdom she has grown to love and the human kingdom that holds her legacy. Maleficent realizes that Aurora may hold the key to peace in the land and is forced to take drastic actions that will change both worlds forever.

The film stars Angelina Jolie as Maleficent, Sharlto Copley, Elle Fanning, Sam Riley, Imelda Staunton, Miranda Richardson, Juno Temple and Lesley Manville.

Opening across the Philippines on May 28, 2014, “Maleficient” is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International through Columbia Pictures.

Walt Disney Pictures has just revealed two new one-sheet art (domestic and international) for its fantasy adventure “Maleficent” starring Angelina Jolie.

Featured below, the domestic poster shows Jolie hypnotically staring into the viewer as the title character's iconic horns beautifully cut the solid white background. Meanwhile, the international version features an image of Sleeping Beauty in addition to Maleficent.

The film explores the untold story of Disney's most iconic villain from the classic “Sleeping Beauty" and the elements of her betrayal that ultimately turn her pure heart to stone. Driven by revenge and a fierce desire to protect the moors over which she presides, Maleficent cruelly places an irrevocable curse upon the human king's newborn infant Aurora. As the child grows, Aurora is caught in the middle of the seething conflict between the forest kingdom she has grown to love and the human kingdom that holds her legacy. Maleficent realizes that Aurora may hold the key to peace in the land and is forced to take drastic actions that will change both worlds forever.

“Maleficent” stars Angelina Jolie as Maleficent, Sharlto Copley, Elle Fanning, Sam Riley, Imelda Staunton, Miranda Richardson, Juno Temple and Lesley Manville.

Opening across the Philippines on May 28, 2014, “Maleficient” is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International through Columbia Pictures.

Walt Disney Pictures has just unveiled the second trailer for its fantasy adventure “Maleficent” starring Angelina Jolie. The trailer, which features Lana Del Rey's unique, never-before-heard rendition of the fairy-tale tune "Once Upon a Dream," may be viewed athttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qisd-Ge6-aQ.

Del Rey's reimagining of the renowned song from Disney's classic animated film “Sleeping Beauty” will be featured in full during the end-credits of “Maleficent.”

The film explores the untold story of Disney's most iconic villain from the classic “Sleeping Beauty" and the elements of her betrayal that ultimately turn her pure heart to stone. Driven by revenge and a fierce desire to protect the moors over which she presides, Maleficent cruelly places an irrevocable curse upon the human king's newborn infant Aurora. As the child grows, Aurora is caught in the middle of the seething conflict between the forest kingdom she has grown to love and the human kingdom that holds her legacy. Maleficent realizes that Aurora may hold the key to peace in the land and is forced to take drastic actions that will change both worlds forever.

The film stars Angelina Jolie as Maleficent, Sharlto Copley, Elle Fanning, Sam Riley, Imelda Staunton, Miranda Richardson, Juno Temple and Lesley Manville.

Opening across the Philippines on May 28, 2014, “Maleficient” is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International through Columbia Pictures.

The official teaser poster art for Walt Disney Pictures' upcoming fantasy adventure “Maleficent” starring Angelina Jolie has just been launched by the studio and can be seen below.

From Disney comes “Maleficent”—the untold story of Disney’s most iconic villain from the 1959 classic “Sleeping Beauty.” A beautiful, pure-hearted young woman, Maleficent has an idyllic life growing up in a peaceable forest kingdom, until one day when an invading army threatens the harmony of the land. Maleficent rises to be the land’s fiercest protector, but she ultimately suffers a ruthless betrayal—an act that begins to turn her pure heart to stone. Bent on revenge, Maleficent faces an epic battle with the invading king’s successor and, as a result, places a curse upon his newborn infant Aurora. As the child grows, Maleficent realizes that Aurora holds the key to peace in the kingdom—and perhaps to Maleficent’s true happiness as well.

The film stars Angelina Jolie as Maleficent, Sharlto Copley, Elle Fanning, Sam Riley, Imelda Staunton, Miranda Richardson, Juno Temple and Lesley Manville.

“Maleficent” is produced by Joe Roth and directed by Robert Stromberg, with Angelina Jolie, Don Hahn, Matt Smith, Palak Patel and Sarah Bradshaw serving as executive producers. Linda Woolverton wrote the screenplay.

Opening across the Philippines on May 30, 2014, “Maleficient” is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International through Columbia Pictures.