Box Office Analysis & Recap: 'The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies' Wins; 'Into The Woods' and 'Unbroken' Soar
"The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies" has won the Christmas weekend and the last weekend of the year, beating out new releases "Into the Woods" and "Unbroken."
In its second weekend, "The Hobbit" fell 24.3 percent from its first weekend and made $41 million. In two weeks, the epic has already made $168 million and is currently ahead of last year's installment, "The Desolation of Smaug." The film has benefited from Warner Bros.' huge marketing campaign and good word-of-mouth. The film is likely to outpace the $258 million "The Desolation of Smaug" made last year, but it is still a questionable whether or not "the Battle of the Five Armies" will make the $300 million mark.
In second place, "Unbroken" had an impressive debut making $31 million. After five days, the film has already made a total of $47.3 million, which is more than pundits expected. "Unbroken's" appeal was not due to reviews as it received mixed reception. However, the film is based on Laura Hillenbrand's popular book and Angelina Jolie remains a popular box office draw. While she is not in the film, audiences are intrigued by her work off screen. The war drama is now poised to be a big hit at the box office and could have a bigger draw if it gets nominated for the Academy Awards.
In third place, "Into the Woods" also had a better opening than expected. The Disney musical brought in $31 million over the weekend and has already made $46.1 million in its first five days. The opening is in line with 2012's "Les Miserables," which also opened at the same time and made $48 million in its first five days. The musical had a lot of things working in its favor, especially since it is based on a popular musical and was able to get adult audiences into theaters. Additionally, "Into the Woods" is a Disney film that has a number of familiar fairy-tale characters which appealed to family audiences. While it may not be the awards contender most expected, the movie is headed to close with at least $140 million making it the most successful musical since "Les Miserables."
After a terrible opening, "Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tombs" recovered and grossed $20 million. The film benefited from family audiences and from word-of-mouth. After two weeks, the family film has grossed $55 million and is likely to end its run with $100 million.
"Annie" also benefited from children out of school. The film made $16 million and is now slated to close with $80 million.
"The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1" added $10 million and hit the $300 million milestone. To date, the third installment has already made $306 million and will likely become the highest-grossing film of the year by the end of its run.
In seventh place, "The Gambler" opened with $9.3 million. The movie, which obtained mixed reviews, has already brought in $14.3 million in five days, which is very low for a Mark Wahlberg film. With no awards prospects and little enthusiasm, this Paramount caper is unlikely to soar at the box office.
In eighth, the Weinstein Company's "The Imitation Game" was a hit in wide release. The biopic, which expanded into 747 theaters, made $7.93 million and brought its total to $14.6 million. If it continues to obtain the awards buzz it is getting, the film could make well over $50 million.
However, the company failed to generate interest for the Tim Burton film "Big Eyes." The Amy Adams starrer only made $2.9 million in 1,307 theaters. After five days, it has only grossed $4.4 million. If the film generates awards buzz, it could potentially end its run with $20 million.
In 331 theaters, "The Interview" finally opened to a disappointing $1.81 million with an overall $2.85 million in five days. The theatrical appeal was most likely low since it was also available on demand. Sony decided to release the movie on these platforms after big theater chains opted out due to the terrorist threats. However, the on-demand release was a huge hit. After hitting on demand platforms, the film has already made $15 million. This could be a turning point in the way films are released, especially since VOD is cheaper to release films on. Audiences preferred to stay home and watch the film rather than make it out to theaters.
In limited release, Clint Eastwood's "American Sniper" had a great opening with $610,000 in four theaters. The film's per-theater average was equivalent to $152,500, which now ranks as the second highest per theater average for a live action film. It is also the second-best limited release opening of the year after "The Grand Budapest Hotel." Warner Bros. will expand the feature into wide release on Jan. 16.
"Selma" also had an impressive opening in 19 theaters. The feature made $590,000, which is equal to $31,053. The feature has a lot of awards prospect and will be expanding on Jan. 9 into wide release.