‘Maleficent: Mistress of Evil’ to Launch Internationally From Rome (EXCLUSIVE)

By Nick Vivarelli

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Disney’s “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil” is set to have its European premiere in Rome on Oct. 7 as a special event that will serve as the film’s first international screening and junket with its two top stars in tow.

The hotly anticipated “Maleficent” sequel will screen as a pre-opening gala of the the Rome festival’s independently run Alice in the City sidebar. The event will mark the film’s first screening outside the U.S. attended by stars Angelina Jolie and Michelle Pfeiffer, who will do press and walk the red carpet.

“Maleficent 2” is expected to have a U.S. red carpet gala premiere in Los Angeles in late September, prior to its Oct. 18 domestic release.

The film will be released theatrically in several European markets before it hits U.S. cinemas. It will be released in France on Oct. 16 and in Italy, Germany and Russia a day later. The U.K. and Spain will release the film on the same day as the U.S.

The Alice in the City sidebar to the Rome Film Festival runs concurrently with the fest, from Oct. 17 to 27.

In “Maleficient: Mistress of Evil,” 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 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.