John Green, author of “The Fault in Our Stars,” poses during an interview in New York on Monday, June 2, 2014. The book has been adapted into a feature film starring Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort. AP
NEW YORK—The teenage romance “The Fault in Our Stars,” adapted from John Green’s best-seller, easily outshined Tom Cruise’s sci-fi action film “Edge of Tomorrow” with an impressive $48 million debut, industry data showed Monday. The much-bigger-budget “Edge of Tomorrow” opened in third place with $28.8 million.
The movie, based on a popular young adult novel by John Green about teenagers who meet at a cancer support group, pushed last week’s No. 1 “Maleficent”–starring and produced by megastar Angelina Jolie in a modern No. 2 two slot.
The wicked witch who has haunted generations of children earned a still impressive $34.3 million in its second weekend in theaters, industry tracker Exhibitor Relations said.
Another time-bending movie, “X-Men: Days of Future Past,” fell to fourth place with only $15.2 million in its third weekend out.
And cowboy comedy “A Million Ways to Die in the West,” which stars comedian Seth MacFarlane as a sheep farmer in 1880s Arizona, sank to fifth with $7.3 million in ticket sales.
“Godzilla,” which features “Breaking Bad” star Bryan Cranston as a tortured Japanese-speaking scientist battling to save humanity, was in sixth with $6.1 million.
And “Neighbors” starring Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne as a couple living next door to a raucous fraternity house, earned just under $5.3 million and landed in seventh.
Romantic comedy “Blended,” featuring Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore, scored $4.1 million in ticket sales for eighth place, ahead of foodie flick “The Chef,” the story of a restless chef who takes his talents on the road in a food-truck. It improved on last week’s take to earn $2.6 million in ninth place.
And rounding out the top 10, baseball movie “Million Dollar Arm” earned just over $2 million.