The Hunger Games saga continues as it enters in with its fourth and final installment in the dystopian franchise, Mockingjay – Part 2.
The film debuted to an estimated $101 million, the lowest opening of any Hunger Games movies. Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games debuted back in March 2012 with $152.5 million, while Catching Fire opened the following year with $158.1 million. Last year’s Mockingjay – Part 1 saw a slight dip, opening to $121.9 million.
Mockingjay – Part 2, which was expected to earn upwards of $120 million, still ranks as the fifth-biggest debut of the year. It is one of the only five films to debut above $100 million, behind Jurassic World ($208.8 million), Avengers: Age of Ultron ($191.3 million), Furious 7 ($147.2 million) and Minions ($115.7 million).
Moviegoers gave Mockingjay – Part 2 an A minus CinemaScore, while critics gave it a 71 percent “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
“This has been a very brightly burning franchise for a relatively short amount of time,” said Rentrak senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian. “Older audiences take a little more time to come out. For this movie, it’s more of a marathon run.”
Following in second and third place at the box office is the James Bond film Spectre and family-friendly The Peanuts Movie, with $14.6 million and $12.8 million, respectively. Spectre’s domestic total is now at $153.7 million, while The Peanuts Movie has reached $98.9 million.
The weekend’s other new wide releases included Sony’s The Night Before and STX’s The Secret In Their Eyes. The R-rated Christmas comedy, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Anthony Mackie and Seth Rogen, earned $10.1 million across 2,960 theaters for a fourth place finish. It received positive reviews, with a strong A minus CinemaScore from moviegoers and a 64 percent “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes from critics.
Watch Joseph Gordon-Levitt Perform Janet Jackson’s ‘Rhythm Nation’ on ‘Lip Sync Battle’
The drama Secret In Their Eyes, starring Julia Roberts, Nicole Kidman and Chiwetel Ejiofor, rounded out the top five with $6.6 million. Moviegoers gave the film a B minus CinemaScore, while critics were not too kind, giving it a 42 percent “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Top 10 Films at Weekend Box Office: November 20-22
- The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 — $101 million
- Spectre — $14.6 million
- The Peanuts Movie — $12.8 million
- The Night Before — $10.1 million
- The Secret In Their Eyes — $6.6 million
- Love The Coopers — $3.9 million
- The Martian — $3.7 million
- Spotlight — $3.6 million
- The 33 — $2.2 million
- Bridge of Spies — $1.9 million
