Box Office Recap: ‘Heart Of The Sea’ Sinks With $11M

For the fourth weekend in a row since its debut, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 is leading the pack at the box office, with an additional $11.3 million for a domestic total of $244.5 million.

Director Ron Howard’s newcomer In the Heart of the Sea hit major waves, as it debuted to a meager $11 million across 3,103 theaters. With an estimated $100 million production tag, the film – about a real-life 19th-century sailor who was stranded at sea with his men after a whale destroyed their ship, the Essex – stars Chris Hemsworth, Benjamin Walker, Cillian Murphy, Tom Holland, Ben Whishaw and Brendan Gleeson. The story is believed to have been the inspiration for Herman Melville’s Moby Dick.

“It’s really a marathon and not a sprint with a film like this,” said Jeff Goldstein, Warner Bros. executive vice president of distribution. “When you have an older-skewing audience, like this film, they don’t come out during opening week. You need some time for the audience to hear about it.”

Heart of the Sea received a 43 percent “fresh” score on Rotten Tomatoes from critics and a B minus CinemaScore from moviegoers, who were more than 46 percent of the audience over the age of 50.

The top five consisted of other holdovers from past weeks, including Pixar’s The Good Dinosaur, Warner Bros.’ Creed and Universal’s Krampus.

The latest animated offering from Pixar, The Good Dinosaur, tells the story of a dinosaur and a cave boy. The film won third place by adding $10.5 million to its $90 million domestic total. Following in fourth place at the box office is the Rocky reboot Creed with $10.1 million in its third weekend. Thus far, the film, starring Michael B. Jordan as the son of Apollo Creed, has accumulated $79.3 million domestically.

Rounding out the top five is Christmas horror film Krampus, starring Adam Scott and Toni Colette, with $8 million in its second weekend, with a domestic grand total of $28.2 million. The film – based on an ancient Alpine Christmas legend – follows a modern dysfunctional family whose holiday celebration is overturned by the demonic, goat-like counterpart to St. Nicholas.

Next weekend’s box office will get a huge boost as the latest installment in the Star Wars franchise, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, debuts Thursday night.

“I don’t think you can take away how much the Force is overshadowing everything right now,” said Jeff Bock, a box office analyst with Exhibitor Relations. “Until [‘The Force Awakens’] opens, everything else will be a non-factor.”

Top 10 Films at Weekend Box Office: December 11-13

1. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 — $11.3 million
2. In The Heart Of The Sea — $11 million
3. The Good Dinosaur — $10.5 million
4. Creed — $10.1 million
5. Krampus — $8 million
6. Spectre — $4 million
7. The Night Before — $3.9 million
8. The Peanuts Movie — $2.65 million
9. Spotlight — $2.5 million
10. Brooklyn — $1.98 million