Weekend Box Office Report: March 13-15, 2015

Cinderella is queen of the box office!

Moviegoers were looking for some fairy tale romance this weekend, putting CINDERELLA at #1 with an estimated $70 million!

Disney's live-action update didn't have any major stars (Lily James is probably best known from "Downton Abbey" and her Prince Charming is former "Game of Thrones" King in the North Richard Madden), relying instead on familiarity with the timeless story and the 1950 animated classic.

While it couldn't surpass the opening of Disney's live-action ALICE IN WONDERLAND adaptation ($116 million in March 2010), CINDERELLA did step just a slipper length beyond last summer's MALEFICENT ($69.4 million) — and without any 3D price markups.

For director Kenneth Branagh, CINDERELLA's debut was also a bigger score than his previous big-budget fantasy THOR ($65.7 million in 2011). The colorful $95 million retelling also gathered an additional $62 million from international audiences, and enchanted both critics (83% on Rotten Tomatoes) and crowds ('A' CinemaScore).

Opening in second place was Liam Neeson's RUN ALL NIGHT with $11 million. The R-rated action-drama was Neeson's third time around with director Jaume Collet-Serra, but the first weekend numbers came in far below their PG-13 efforts NON-STOP ($28.8 million) and UNKNOWN ($21.8 million), instead coming closer to the star's grim crime drama A WALK AMONG THE TOMBSTONES ($12.7 million).

RUN ALL NIGHT (which cost a reported $50 million) received an almost-passable critical average of 59% on Rotten Tomatoes, but earned an 'A-' CinemaScore from audiences, for whatever that's worth.

Moving up a spot to third place was the resilient KINGSMAN: THE SECRET SERVICE with another $6.2 million to cross the $100 million barrier domestically. Will Smith's con artist comedy FOCUS dipped to fourth with $5.8 million.

Neill Blomkamp's robot actioner CHAPPIE (the fourth R-rated movie in the Top 5) experienced mechanical difficulties as it slouched down to fifth with $5.8 million, a drop of 56% from its first place opening last weekend. The senior romance THE SECOND BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL was close behind with $5.7 million, down 33% from last week's debut.

THE SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SPONGE OUT OF WATER is starting to drift, while Kevin Costner's sports drama MCFARLAND USA is still jogging on. After taking a week off, AMERICAN SNIPER fired back onto the list just ahead of the high-school comedy THE DUFF.

Outside the chart, THE LAZARUS EFFECT expired, FIFTY SHADES OF GREY put away the cuffs, and the Vince Vaughn comedy UNFINISHED BUSINESS is finished after a single week in the Top 10. In limited release, the much-praised horror movie IT FOLLOWS scared up an impressive $40k per-screen average, while the Scientology exposé GOING CLEAR cruised to a $20k per-screen average.

Next weekend brings the second chapter in THE DIVERGENT SERIES: INSURGENT, plus the Sean Penn action movie THE GUNMAN and the religious drama DO YOU BELIEVE?.

What is your favorite live-action Disney movie? VOTE HERE!

# MOVIE TITLE WKND $ TOTAL $
1 Cinderella $70 M NEW
2 Run All Night $11 M NEW
3 Kingsman: The Secret Service $6.2 M $107.3 M
4 Focus $5.8 M $44 M
5 Chappie $5.7 M $23.3 M
6 The Spongebob Movie: Sponge Out of Water $4.1 M $154.6 M
7 The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel $5.7 M $18 M
8 McFarland USA $3.6 M $34.9 M
9 American Sniper $2.9 M $341.4 M
10 The DUFF $2.9 M $30.3 M
Source: Box Office Mojo

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