How ‘Evil’ found keys to its tale

One of Angelina Jolie’s daughters gave ‘Maleficent’ team its backstory inspiration.

When director Joachim Rønning took on Disney’s “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil,” creating something original was one of his priorities. And in building out the fairy tale world, the filmmakers came up with a backstory even bigger than their movie would have time to tell.

“Yes, the film is based on the characters of ‘Sleeping Beauty’ and the ‘Maleficent’ universe,” said Rønning in advance of the film’s release this past weekend. “But it’s a continuation of an untold story.”

“Maleficent: Mistress of Evil” is set five years after the events of the 2014 movie that offered a new spin on a Disney classic. Aurora (Elle Fanning) is all grown up and making big life decisions, regardless of how Maleficent (Angelina Jolie) might feel about them. Maleficent’s relationship with Aurora remains a key part of the film, despite it being put to the test by potential in-law Queen Ingrith (Michelle Pfeiffer). But the big revelation in “Mistress of Evil” is that Maleficent is not the only one of her kind. The film introduces the dark fey, who have all been living in exile from the human world, and digs further into Maleficent’s origins.

Among the new dark fey introduced are Conall (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and Borra (Ed Skrein), two leader figures of their community. Visually,

The box office was dominated by villains and sequels as Disney and Buena Vista’s “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil” toppled “Joker” from the top spot after two weekends of dominance.

The $185-million film, which stars Angelina Jolie as the titular “Sleeping Beauty” sorceress, opened with a disappointing $36 million, well below analyst projections of $45 million to $50 million, according to estimates from measurement firm Comscore. Internationally it earned $117 million for a global cumulative of $153 million.

It earned a mixed reception with an A CinemaScore but a 41% “rotten” rating on review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes.

A follow-up to 2014’s “Maleficent,” the sequel failed to recapture the allure of the first film, which opened with $69.4 million in North America on its way to $758 million in global ticket sales. The result may reflect fatigue among moviegoers of Disney’s live-action remakes, following underperformers such as “Dumbo” and “Alice Through the Looking Glass.”

However, it was a particularly strong weekend for specialty films.

In limited release, Fox Searchlight opened Taika Waititi’s Holocaust comedy “Jojo Rabbit” in five locations to $350,000 for an impressive per-screen average of $70,000, one of the best specialty box office openings of the year. It earned a 77% “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes. A24 opened “The Lighthouse” in eight locations to $419,764 for a strong per-screen average of $52,471. It earned a 93% “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Neon’s “Parasite” added 30 locations for a total of 33, earning $1.2 million in its second weekend for a still impressive $37,616 per screen average and a cumulative $1.8 million. The critically acclaimed Bong Joon Ho film enjoyed a 233% increase over its opening weekend, finishing just outside the top 10.

In second place, “Joker” added $29.2 million. Worldwide, it crossed the $700-million mark after just three weeks in theaters, currently standing at $737.5 million.

At No. 3, “Zombieland: Double Tap” opened with $26.7 million. Original cast members Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, Woody Harrelson and Abigail Breslin return a decade later for the sequel with newcomers Rosario Dawson, Luke Wilson and Thomas Middleditch.

In fourth place, “The Addams Family” animated remake added $16.1 million in its second weekend.

Rounding out the top five, “Gemini Man” added $8.5 million. Globally, it has earned $82.2 million.