Movies
Box Office Recap: ‘Hunger Games’ Tops Thanksgiving Weekend
Holdover The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 gobbled up the box office newcomers this weekend, earning $75.8 million from the Wednesday-Sunday holiday stretch.
The action adventure, featuring Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth, has gathered up $440.7 million worldwide so far.
“It’s one of the crown jewels of all-time franchises, in a very short amount of time,” said Rentrak senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian. “For a franchise that has been in the marketplace for not that long, it has certainly made its mark — and in impressive fashion.”
The holiday weekend newcomers included The Good Dinosaur, Creed and Victor Frankenstein. Pixar/Diseny’s The Good Dinosaur debuted in second place with $55.6 million across 3,749 theaters over the five days, and $39.2 million for the three-day weekend. The family animated film, which tells the story of a dinosaur and a caveboy, received a 77 percent “fresh” score on Rotten Tomatoes from critics and an A CinemaScore from moviegoers.
“For families, that was just the perfect option (for Thanksgiving weekend),” said Dergarabedian. “That was a smart move and a great release date for that movie.”
In third place is the Rocky reboot Creed, which opened to $42.6 million from 3,284 theaters for the five days, and a $30.1 million three-day weekend gross. The boxing drama, featuring a returning Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) training Apollo Creed’s son (Michael B. Jordan), received raving reviews, with an A CinemaScore and a 93 percent “fresh” score on Rotten Tomatoes.
It’s “a real crowd-pleaser,” said Dergarabedian. “This is a movie that is really going to get a lot of attention. It’s not just a Rocky movie — it’s much more than that.”
The weekend’s final wide debut was Paul McGuigan’s Victor Frankenstein, starring James McAvoy and Daniel Radcliffe, which opened with a dismal five-day gross of $3.4 million from 2,797 theaters. The film received poor reviews, with a 23 percent “fresh” score on Rotten Tomatoes and a C CinemaScore from moviegoers.
Finishing in fourth and fifth place is holdovers Spectre and The Peanuts Movie, with $18.2 million and $13.6 million, respectively.
Top 10 Films at Weekend Box Office: November 27-29
- The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 — $51.6 million
- The Good Dinosaur — $39.2 million
- Creed — $30.1 million
- Spectre — $12.8 million
- The Peanuts Movie — $9.7 million
- The Night Before — $8.2 million
- The Secret In Their Eyes — $4.5 million
- Spotlight — $4.5 million
- Brooklyn — $3.8 million
- The Martian — $3.3 million