The last few months just haven’t been up to par at the box office with the exception of Ridley Scott’s The Martian, as all other movies either outright bombed or just didn’t live up to the expectations of their precursors. That was once again the case with Lionsgate’s The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2, the finale to the blockbuster franchise that has grossed over 2 billion at the global box office, which underperformed even below the lowest projections, at least domestically.
Starring Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Sam Claflin, Natalie Dormer, Julianne Moore, Donald Sutherland and the late Philip Seymour Hoffman, the fourth and final chapter grossed $16 million in Thursday previews which was added into its $46 million opening day. It’s estimated to have grossed $101 million as of Sunday morning in 4,175 theaters, or $24,198 per theater. That is the lowest opening for the franchise by nearly $20 million and only the fifth-highest opening of the year, although it should still be impressive that any movies opened over $100 million this year, let alone five.
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 received a decent “A-” CinemaScore, which is also what Part 1 received, and that ended up grossing $337 million last year domestically after a $121.9 million opening.
Mockingjay Part 2 grossed $146 million overseas in 87 markets with the UK contributing $17 million to that amount, China being just behind with $16 million, Germany with $14 million, Mexico with $8 million, and France with $7 million. $8.5 million of its weekend take came from 384 IMAX screens (371 of those in North America).
EON Productions, MGM Studios and Sony Pictures‘ James Bond franchise installment SPECTRE, once again starring Daniel Craig, dropped to second place with $14.6 million, down 59% in its third weekend, with a total North American gross of $153.7 million. That’s compared to the $221 million grossed by Skyfall in its first three weeks (but that also included Thanksgiving weekend). Sony is projecting that SPECTRE will have reached $670 million globally as of this weekend.
20th Century Fox and Blue Sky Studios‘ animated The Peanuts Movie dropped to third place with $12.8 million (down 47%) as it makes a slow progress to $100 million with $98.9 million grossed domestically so far.
Sony Pictures’ R-rated holiday comedy The Night Before, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen and Anthony Mackie and directed by Jonathan Levine (50/50), failed to bring in much of an audience against the latest “Hunger Games,” grossing just $10.1 million in 2,960 theaters, or $3,412 per theater, in fourth place. It scored an “A-” in the CinemaScore polls, which is a good sign it can find its holiday audience in the weeks to come.
Julia Roberts, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Nicole Kidman starred in STX Entertainment’s English remake of the Argentinian Oscar winner Secret in Their Eyes, which opened in fifth place with $6.7 million in 2,392 theaters, or $2,789 per theater.
CBS Films’ ensemble holiday comedy Love the Coopers, starring Alan Arkin, John Goodman, Ed Helms, Diane Keaton, Jake Lacy, Anthony Mackie, Amanda Seyfried, June Squibb, Marisa Tomei and Olivia Wilde, plunged to sixth place with $3.9 million, down 53%, bringing its total to $14.9 million.
Ridley Scott’s The Martian, starring Matt Damon and distributed by 20th Century Fox, continues its fantastic run with its 8th weekend in the Top 10, as it dropped to seventh place with $3.7 million and $213 million grossed so far, making it the sixth-highest grossing film of the year.
The ensemble drama Spotlight (Open Road), starring Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schreiber and Stanley Tucci, added over 500 more theaters as it crept into the Top 10 in eighth place with $3.6 million, or $6,020 per theater, as it prepares for further expansion nationwide over Thanksgiving.
Todd Haynes’ period drama Carol (The Weinstein Company), starring Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara and Kyle Chandler, opened in just four theaters theaters with an impressive $248,149. The film averaged $62,037 per theater.
For a second weekend in a row, Universal Pictures opened one of their films in limited release, this time being the crime film Legend, starring Tom Hardy as Ron and Reggie Kray, which opened in four theaters in New York and L.A. with $83,000, an average of $20,721 per theater. In its second weekend, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s drama By the Sea expanded into 126 theaters where it grossed $185,000, or $1,470 per theater, with $313,000 grossed so far.
The Saoirse Ronan drama Brooklyn (Fox Searchlight) expanded into 111 theaters where it added $1.1 million to its $2.2 million total gross. It will expand nationwide over Thanksgiving next week.
