<text>  CNNCinderella, the latest live-action retelling of a classic, sparkled like a glass slipper in its opening weekend, with an estimated debut of 70.1 million. Thats well above expectations of 50 to 60 million, and it tops last years 69.4 million opening for Maleficent, another take on the classic fairy tale, which featured Angelina Jolie and a darker tone. This version, however is sweetness and light, thanks to veteran director Kenneth Branagh. Small-screen stars Lily James Downton Abbey and Richard Madden Game of Thrones play Ella and her Prince, who overcome personal grief and uncertainty with courage and goodness. Oscar winner Cate Blanchett provides venom as the wicked stepmother. Reviews for Cinderella have been strong, with a current Rotten Tomatoes rating of 83. Disney timed the release well: Its been more than a month since a family film hit theaters if you can call the SpongeBob sequel a family film, and some American school districts just began spring break. Liam Neesons latest thriller, Run All Night, opened in a very soft second place. Neeson has been a solid draw since he reinvented himself as an action star six years ago with Taken, but Run All Night debuted even more weakly than last years dismal A Walk Among the Tombstones. This time out, he plays a former hit man whose family is targeted by his old boss, played by Ed Harris -- but it seems people would rather see Neeson attack and fight than run. In limited release, the critically acclaimed horror thriller It Follows made 163,000 in just four theaters, far and away the weekends best per-theater average. Among returning films, Colin Firth and Kingsman: The Secret Service shone the brightest, topping the 100 million mark in total domestic grosses and actually rising a spot on the chart, while last weekends winner, Chappie, and runner-up, Focus, duked it out for fourth place. Next weekend, Shailene Woodley returns in the young adult action sequel The Divergent Series: Insurgent, while Sean Penn tries the action genre with Idris Elba and Javier Bardem in The Gunman. 