Scary prospects for Disney’s ‘Maleficent’
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- Published on Wednesday, 30 November -0001 00:00
- Written by NewYork Post
Disney’s dark fantasy film, “Maleficent,” starring Angelina Jolie as the title villainess, may be too dark and scary to be profitable, one Wall Street analyst wrote in a report on Monday.The $130-million-budget movie, which tells the “Sleeping Beauty” tale from the perspective of the evil Maleficent, is set to debut May 30 and will likely result in Disney being forced into a write-down, Wells Fargo’s Marci Ryvicker wrote in a report.“[E]xpectations for a ‘Maleficent’ write-off seem relatively widespread,” she wrote.With more than eight weeks to go before “Maleficent” unspools, few on Wall Street are ready to take such a bold stance.“It’s definitely in the ‘not a sure thing’ bucket,” a second analyst said of the re-imagined fairy tale. RBC Capital’s David Bank is penciling in a total US haul of $150 million.The movie appears to be pitched at young adults rather than at the more traditional audience for a Disney princess movie: small children.
Jolie appears in the movie with enhanced sharp high cheekbones and headgear with horns. The actress struck a deal with fashion designer Stella McCartney to create a capsule collection for children aged 4 to 14 based on the movie.It’s hard to deny strong interest in the movie — or perhaps simply Jolie.An official trailer posted March 18 has gained 4 million views on YouTube. A January trailer garnered 13 million views.“Maleficent” has 1.8 million Facebook fans, more than any other non-franchise film with a 2014 release date, according to Jason Klein, co-CEO and founder of Listen First Media.Whether that translates into a big box-office number is anyone’s guess.A write-down, while very much an open question, could slow the momentum of Disney, whose “Frozen” last week became the highest-grossing animated movie of all time.
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