MOVIE WORLD RECORD BREAKER: 'Maleficent' casts $70 million spell over box office, halts 'X-Men' uprising

LOS ANGELES/NEW YORK (Reuters) - "Maleficent," Walt Disney's special-effects laden take on "Sleeping Beauty's" wicked fairy godmother, captivated moviegoers collecting $70 million in ticket sales to win the weekend box office stakes.

The movie starring Angelina Jolie as the black-robed villain finished far ahead of last week's winner, "X-Men: Days of Future Past," which took $32.6 million at U.S. and Canadian theaters. Seth MacFarlane's western comedy "A Million Ways to Die in the West" was third with $17.1 million for the three days from Friday to Sunday.

"X-Men: Days of Future Past" was distributed by Fox, a unit of Twenty-First Century Fox. Universal, a unit of Comcast, released "A Million Ways to Die in the West."

(Reporting By Ronald Grover and Chris Michaud; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)


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