Angelina Jolie has returned to the silver screen as Disney's famous villain Maleficent after almost a four year break from cinema.
Soon after its release on May 30, Forbes confirmed it was Jolie's "biggest opening weekend ever," with the film making a staggering almost £102 million worldwide in just three days.
"This is as perfect a 'star+concept' package as you could imagine, with cinema's most larger-than-life female movie star playing one of Disney's most iconic villains," said Forbes writer Scott Mendelson.
However, the "star+concept" is rarely so powerful. As Maleficent producer Joe Roth highlighted it takes a certain level of celebrity to ensure a film like this has any notable level of success.
"There was no point in making the movie if it wasn't her," he said about casting Jolie. Surely the rest of Hollywood would now happily agree.
I too have been struggling to come up with a superior alternative for the role. After all, no can do "scary" like Angelina - just a glance at her chiseled cheekbones, piercing green eyes and blood-red lips establishes this. She has an intensity that's truly more extraordinary than beautiful - or to put it in fairytale terms - more queen than princess.
But her appearance is just part of what makes Jolie a believable, stuff-of-children's-nightmares baddie. Adding to the aesthetic is the actress' slightly terrifying image.
Here's a woman who, at one point, wore a vial of blood round her neck, snogged her brother at the Oscars in 2001 and was once married to the equally terrifying Billy-Bob Thornton.
Jolie's interpretation of a villain isn't bitchy or catty - it's about being hard, evil and destructive. Her characters are often full of mystery too, as Disney' executive Dave Hollis explained to Variety.
"As a star, she's a draw that transcends culture and borders and language," he said. "There's a universal nature to the intrigue she creates."
It's worth noting the world's most famous mother of six children is also the bad girl of Hollywood. Although the line between Jolie's real-life and onscreen personas shouldn't be blurred, who will forget the moment she reportedly swiped Brad Pitt from Jennifer Aniston in the biggest relationship shake-up in celebrity history?
Has this vision of a dominant, rebellious and uniquely alluring female helped bring about Jolie's success at depicting a villain? It must have played a part. Just think about it - will Angelina ever be cast as a Disney princess? It's difficult to believe.