[ By DAN DEMING ]

[ ENTERTAINMENT CONTRIBUTOR ]

After a series of huge box office successes, Disney hopes for another one as “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil” opens this weekend. It’s a sequel to the original “Maleficent,” again starring Angelina Jolie, along with Michelle Pfeiffer and Elle Fanning. For those not familiar with the original, the movie is a live-action fairy tale adaptation that some critics say is superior to the first.

Although it’s unlikely many of the over-50 crowd will be attracted to Maleficent, it’s likely to be the top ticket seller after two big weekends for “Joker,” which led the past two weekly box office results and has now grossed — just in the United States — nearly four times its production budget. “The Addams Family” was a distant second last week at $30 million, coming in some $25 million behind “Joker,” which is getting considerable Oscar buzz for Joaquin Phoenix’s exceptional performance in one of the darker and more disturbing adult dramas so far this year.

Other B&B Theatre options at the Hutchinson Mall include a comedy called “Jexi,”which focuses on our cellphone addiction, especially when paired with an artificial intelligence life coach. Also still here, but not for long, is “Gemini Man,” which is turning out to be one of Hollywood’s biggest busts of the year. Only $20.5 million in ticket sales opening weekend after a $138 million budget, including actor Will Smith.

 

“Movie news you can use” is a weekly feature submitted by Dan Deming. The thoughts and opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those of Hutch Post or its affiliates.