"The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1" won the box office beating out the new releases and became the clear choice for the Thanksgiving weekend.

The Lionsgate futuristic film made an estimated $56.8 million over the three day weekend and brought its total gross to $225 million. The film is now on track to become the highest grossing movie of the year, but it continues to trail its two predecessors. "Mockingjay: Part 1" is currently $20 million behind the original installment and $70 million behind 2013's "Catching Fire." Looking at the December landscape, "Mockingjay: Part 1" will win the weekend this upcoming week with no new releases but will likely struggle throughout the holiday season with many new blockbusters. It is also questionable if the movie will hit the $400 million mark.

In second place "Penguins of Madagascar" disappointed and only made $25.8 million. After five days the film's total gross is $36 million. The movie struggled do to "Big Hero 6," which was its direct competition and because reviews were mixed. The movie will likely benefit from the holiday season with very few animated films coming out this year. However, "Big Hero 6" is likely to be the preferred choice for family audiences.

In third place "Big Hero 6" was off six percent and made an estimated $18.7 million. The Disney animated feature has now made $167 million and is now headed to cross the $200 million mark.

Meanwhile, "Interstellar" was up three percent and made another $15.8 million. The film has now grossed $147 million and has been enjoying a great run at IMAX theaters. Additionally word-of-mouth continues to be strong. If it continues to play to strong numbers, the film still has a chance at crossing the $200 million by the end of its run. However, it faces competition from "The Hobbit: The Battle of the Fives Armies" and "Exodus: Gods and Kings" in the coming weeks.

In fifth place "Horrible Bosses 2" debuted to terrible results. The film made $15.7 million and brought its five day cume to $23 million. In comparison, the 2011 "Horrible Bosses" made $28 million over a three day weekend. The disappointing results were due to bad reviews and an overcrowded marketplace. "Horrible Bosses 2" is the most recent sequel to underperform following a line of franchises that failed this year including "Dolphin Tale 2," "How to Train Your Dragon 2" and "Planes."

"Dumb and Dumber To" also continued to underperform as it was down 41 percent. The film made $8 million and brought its total to $72 million. Originally expected to hit the 100 million mark, the film looks less likely after this weekend's results.

Meanwhile, Focus Features enjoyed a solid wide release for the Oscar hopeful "The Theory of Everything." The movie made an estimated $5 million. After four weeks, the film has made $9 million and will likely continue a solid run into the awards season especially with Golden Globes and Critics Choice nominations coming out next week.

"Gone Girl" continued to perform solidly and made another $2.4 million. The awards contender has already made $160 million, and Fox will likely re-release the film, if the movie is nominated for big awards.

Fox Searchlight cut down the theater count on "Birdman," but the movie was up one percent and made $1.8 million. To date the Indie Spirit award nominee has made $17 million and is already scheduled to be re-released in more theaters after Golden Globe nominations are announced.

In art house theaters, "Foxcatcher" continued a solid run as it made $1.03 million in 72 theaters. After three weeks the film has made $2 million and Sony Pictures Classics will expand the drama in the coming weeks.

Meanwhile the Weinstein Company enjoyed the second best opening of the year. "The Imitation Game" opened in four theaters to $482,000, which is equivalent to $120,500 per theater average. The total is only second to "The Grand Budapest Hotel," which scored a $202,000 per theater average back in March. The Benedict Cumberbatch starrer is being touted as the front-runner in the Oscar race, and it obtained rave reviews. The Weinstein Company will expand the movie in the next weeks, and based on this opening weekend, the film looks to have a promising run.

Related