Box Office Analysis & Recap: 'The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1" Wins Third Box Office in Lagging Post-Thanksgiving
"The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1" won the box office in the post-Thanksgiving weekend.
The Lionsgate franchise made another $21.6 million and brought its total gross to $257.7 million. "Mockingjay Part 1" is now $40 million behind the original installment and $70 million behind "Catching Fire." The film will undoubtedly get a boost from the holiday season but it will have a rough time getting to the $300 million. "Mockingjay's" total is at the moment a bit of a disappointment considering that the fact the past two films reached the $400 million mark.
In second place, "Penguins of Madagascar" was off 56 percent from its opening weekend. The movie made $11.1 million and has grossed a disappointing $49 million. The film is now on track to close below the $100 million mark and it will be yet another terrible close for Dreamworks.
"Horrible Bosses 2" held better as it was only down 44 percent. The comedy starring Jason Bateman added $8.6 million and brought its gross to $36.1 million. With more comedies on the way for the holiday season, "Horrible Bosses 2" will face competition and will likely close below $60 million. Compared to the original, which made the $100 million mark, this is yet another disastrous gross for a sequel this year.
"Big Hero 6" also suffered during the post-thanksgiving weekend as it made $8.1 million and was down 56 percent. The animated flick has now grossed $177 million and it is getting closer to the $200 million mark. With no other animated films in the marketplace for the holiday season, "Big Hero 6" will likely get a boost.
"Interstellar" continued to have strong word-of-mouth as it only fell 49 percent and made another $8 million. The science fiction feature has now made $158 million and has performed solidly during the week. While it will face rough competition from "Exodus" next week, awards season will likely boosts its gross. The movie still has a chance at the $200 million mark, however it will likely close between $175 million and $190 million.
"The Theory of Everything" continued to gain steam as it made another $2.6 million and brought its total gross to $13.6 million. The film is slated to be a big awards contender and should have a good holiday season run.
"Gone Girl" continued in the top 10 as it added $1.5 million to its gross. At $162 million, the thriller continues to be the runaway hit of the season and will likely get a boost during awards season.
At No. 9, the Fox release "The Pyramid" debuted with $1.3 million in 589 theaters. The gross was far from spectacular but based on the lack of marketing terrible reviews and limited theater count, the opening was not that disappointing.
"Birdman" rounded out the top 10 and made $1 million. To date, the awards contender has made $18 million. Fox Searchlight will continue to unveil the film after Golden Globe nominations and hopes that the film can generate good buzz during the holiday season.
"Nightcrawler" got a boost after Open Road Films reopened the film. The movie made $1 million and has now grossed $30 million. There is no word on whether Open Road will continue to expand the film as it continues to get awards buzz.
In art house theaters, "Wild" opened in 21 theaters and made an impressive, if not extraordinary, $630,000. That translates to a solid $30,000 per theater average. The film stars Reese Witherspoon, who is sure to be nominated for Best Actress. Fox Searchlight intends to expand the film into 100 theaters next Friday and will bring it 800 theaters on Christmas Day.
"Foxcatcher" also had a solid weekend and added another $575,000 to its gross. The movie has made $2.8 million. Sony Pictures Classics is slowly adding theaters but it is become evident that the movie will not be an easy sell, especially with the film not winning the critics prizes it was expected to.
Even though "The Imitation Game" has yet to turn into the awards contender the Weinstein Company expected, the film continues to play to solid results at the box office. In eight theaters, the movie made $402,000 and has now grossed $1 million in two weeks. The Weinstein Company will add another 25 theaters next weekend and will open the film nationwide on Christmas Day.
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