“Maleficent: Mistress of Evil” will hit theaters on Oct. 18, 2019, Walt Disney Studios announced on Wednesday. The fantasy adventure is moving its release date up by seven months. It had previously been slated to debut on May 29, 2020.
The new date pits “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil” against an untitled film from horror-maker Blumhouse. It will also have to contend with the second weekends of “The Adams Family,” the adaptation of Donna Tartt’s “The Goldfinch,” “Zombieland 2,” and “Gemini Man,” a futuristic thriller that unites Will Smith and Ang Lee.
If it had opened on its original date in May, “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil” would have been facing off against the sophomore weekends of “Fast & Furious 9” and “The Spongebob Movie.”
In the film, Angelina Jolie reprises her role as the villainous enchantress Maleficent. The cast also includes Elle Fanning, Sam Riley, Imelda Staunton, Juno Temple, and Lesley Manville, who appeared in the first installment, as well as franchise newcomers Michelle Pfeiffer, Ed Skrein, Harris Dickinson, and Chiwetel Ejiofor. Joachim Rønning (“Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales”) directs from a screenplay by Linda Woolverton, Micah Fitzerman-Blue, and Noah Harpster.
The first “Maleficent” was a box office smash when it opened in 2014. It grossed $758.5 million globally on a $180 million budget.