Mockingjay – Part 2 Hangs On Yet Again
While moviegoers wait for the debut of Walt Disney Studios’ Star Wars: The Force Awakens this coming weekend, there was a close four-way race for first place last weekend, with Lionsgate’s The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 leading with $11.41 million. The final chapter of the young adult blockbuster franchise starring Jennifer Lawrence has led the weekend box office for four consecutive weekends. Mockingjay – Part 2 fell 39.5 percent from the previous weekend. That represented a solid hold, especially since the film lost IMAX screens to In the Heart of the Sea last weekend. In comparison, last year’s The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 fell 42 percent in its fourth weekend to gross $12.69 million. Mockingjay – Part 2 has grossed $244.60 million in 24 days, which places the film 12 percent behind the $276.88 million 24-day take of Mockingjay – Part 1.
Warner Bros. Entertainment’s In the Heart of the Sea debuted in second place with a disappointing $11.05 million. Expectations were low to begin with for the pricey Ron Howard directed adventure drama starring Chris Hemsworth, but the film opened even lower than expected. For Hemsworth, In the Heart of the Sea marks another failed attempt at breaking out as a box office draw outside of his role as Thor. With the launch of The Force Awakens this coming weekend, it is hard to see In the Heart of the Sea holding up well going forward.
The Good Dinosaur finished in third with $10.31 million. The 3D computer animated film from Disney and Pixar stabilized last weekend, down 33 percent. Historically, animated films experience strong holds on the heels of sharp post-Thanksgiving fall-offs. Despite last weekend’s hold, the film has grossed a softer than expected $89.48 million in 19 days. It will obviously face much tougher competition next weekend with both The Force Awakens and 20th Century Fox’s Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip entering theaters.
Warner Bros. and MGM’s Creed claimed fourth place with $10.12 million. The critically acclaimed seventh installment of the Rocky franchise was down a solid 32.5 percent. Creed has grossed a stronger than expected $79.32 million in 19 days. The film is currently running 31 percent ahead of the $60.64 million 19-day take of 2006’s Rocky Balboa, which fell 43 percent in its third weekend to gross $6.02 million. With the holidays still ahead, Creed should hold up better going forward than Rocky Balboa as a Christmas weekend release did.
Krampus rounded out the weekend’s top five with $8.42 million. The holiday themed PG-13 horror film from Universal Pictures was down 48 percent from its opening weekend, which represented a respectable second weekend hold for a horror film. Krampus continues to exceed expectations with a 10-day start of $28.56 million.
In limited release, Paramount Pictures’ The Big Short was off to a terrific start $705,527 from just eight locations. That gave the Adam McKay directed ensemble comedy-drama an impressive average of $88,191 per location. The movie appears to have been aided by strong critical reviews and by having received four Golden Globe nominations on Thursday.The Big Short is scheduled to go into wide release on Dec. 23.
This Week | Last Week | Movie | Weekend Gross | Cumulative Gross | Weeks |
1 | 1 | The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 | $11.41M | $244.60M | 4 |
2 | N/A | In the Heart of the Sea | $11.05M | $11.05M | 1 |
3 | 3 | The Good Dinosaur | $10.31M | $89.48M | 3 |
4 | 4 | Creed | $10.12M | $79.32M | 3 |
5 | 2 | Krampus | $8.42M | $28.56M | 2 |
6 | 6 | The Night Before | $4.13M | $38.44M | 4 |
7 | 5 | Spectre | $4.05M | $190.81M | 6 |
8 | 7 | The Peanuts Movie | $2.69M | $124.99M | 6 |
9 | 8 | Spotlight | $2.51M | $20.30M | 6 |
10 | 9 | Brooklyn | $2.00M | $14.35M | 6 |
Editor-in-Chief Mark Heckathorn is a journalist, movie buff and foodie. He oversees DC on Heels editorial operations as well as strategic planning and staff development. Reach him with story ideas or suggestions at dcoheditor (at) gmail (dot) com.