Angelina Jolie's $1.2 Billion Franchise Return Can Break A 13-Year Box Office Record

Angelina Jolie is set to reprise her role as the title character in the third entry in the Maleficent series, and the movie could end up breaking a box office record from way back in 2011. Despite appearing in fewer movies of late, Angelina Jolie is still one of the most famous people on the planet. Her acting career has seen her star in a number of hit movies, many of which have gone on to be financially successful. Now, the star is scheduled to make her return to the Maleficent franchise, in a move that could have record-smashing results.

The first Maleficent film was released in 2014 and was followed by a sequel in 2019. Maleficent is one of Angelina Jolie’s best characters to date and is certainly the one that has defined her recent movie career the most. From what is currently known, Maleficent 3 is in the works and is thought to be in the very early stages of development. If the film is as successful as its predecessors, Maleficent 3 could break a 13-year-old Angelina Jolie record.

Kung Fu Panda Beat Tomb Raider To Become Angelina Jolie’s Highest Grossing Franchise

The Animated Martial Arts Series Broke The Record In 2011

As it stands, the Kung Fu Panda movies are Angelina Jolie’s highest-grossing movie franchise. The actress voiced the character of Master Tigress, an anthropomorphic tiger, in the first three installments of the animated series. Overall, the four Kung Fu Panda films have earned a worldwide box office total of just over $2.3 billion (via The Numbers). This is a considerable amount more than Jolie’s previous highest-grossing franchise, the Tomb Raider films, which made a little over $430 million globally. In fact, Kung Fu Panda beat Tomb Raider‘s record way back in 2011 with Kung Fu Panda 2.

Both Maleficent movies alone made more money than Jolie’s Tomb Raider films combined, with the first installment earning an impressive $758 million and 2019’s Maleficent: Mistress of Evil following it with a still respectable $489 million (via The Numbers). However, the two movies couldn’t manage to surpass Kung Fu Panda‘s stratospheric box office total. With Maleficent 3, though, that could be about to change.

Maleficent 3 Needs To Make $571 Million To Break Angelina Jolie’s Box Office Record

It’s A Big Mountain To Climb

Presently, Maleficent 3 will need to make just shy of $1.1 billion in order for the franchise to overtake the Kung Fu Panda movies as Angelina Jolie’s highest-grossing film series. While achieving such an amount isn’t totally impossible, it is unlikely given that the first two Maleficent movies have an average box office total of $624 million. However, those sums include Kung Fu Panda 4, a movie that Angelina Jolie isn’t actually in. When Kung Fu Panda‘s earnings are removed from the equation, Maleficent 3 only needs to earn $571 million to break the record.

This is a far more doable amount; the first Maleficent movie far exceeded $571 million, after all. Nevertheless, Maleficent 3‘s success is far from guaranteed. Maleficent: Mistress of Evil was not only far less financially successful than its predecessor, but also less of a hit with critics. Additionally, Angelina Jolie doesn’t have the same kind of hold over the box office she once had. Many of Jolie’s films from the past decade have underperformed at the box office or simply been released direct to streaming. Maleficent 3, therefore, has a big mountain to climb.

Source: The Numbers

Maleficent

A live-action reimagining of the fairytale of Sleeping Beauty, Maleficent follows the titular fairy witch (Angelina Jolie) in a dark fantasy origin story. After falling in love with a human, Maleficent is betrayed when he steals her wings. Swearing revenge, she curses his infant daughter, Princess Aurora, leading to a retelling of the beloved fairytale from an alternate perspective. 

Director

Robert Stromberg

Release Date

May 30, 2014