'Maleficent' spooks box office with $70M debut

NEW YORK -- Disney's "Maleficent" cast a strong spell at the box office with a $70 million debut.

Featuring Angelina Jolie's first live-action starring performance in years, "Maleficent" beat forecasts to easily top all films over the weekend. The PG-rated Disney release is a darker twist on "Sleeping Beauty," told from the villain's perspective.

Seth MacFarlane's Western comedy "A Million Ways to Die in the West" was out-gunned by "Maleficent." It opened in third place with a tepid $17.1 million.

Last weekend's top film, "X-Men: Days of Future Past" dropped to second with $32.6 million.