Update, Monday, 1:30PM:Weekend actuals are rolling in, and while Hunger Games – Mockingjay – Part 1 was actually up over its 3-day estimate of $56.875M with an actual of $56.97M. At $82.6M, the threequel still holds its five-day holiday record (third best 5-day haul for a film playing over Thanksgiving). Frosh openers DreamWorks Animated Penguins of Madagascar took $25.447M over FSS in second with a a five-day of $35.4M while Warner Bros./New Line’s Horrible Bosses 2 settled for 5th place with $15.45M for the 3-day and $22.77M for the 5-day — much slightly under their Sunday AM figures.
Year to date domestic box office is still dragging behind the same post Thanksgiving Sunday a year ago (starting on Jan. 1 for both frames) by 4.3%, with a grand total of $9.44B per Rentrak. All films on the chart this past weekend totaled $163.15M, down 22% from last year’s post Thanksgiving weekend record of $208.069M. That figure is actually a tad higher than what the 2008 Turkey frame grossed — but understand that a $160M weekend is quite normal for this period. Last year was an all-time high, beating the previous year’s $207.77M which was propped by Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 2 as well as four other films that made over $20M: Skyfall, Lincoln, Life of Pi and Rise of the Guardians.
Black Friday competition, lower Thanksgiving, downer year — call it whatever you want in terms of the factors that impacted this year’s post holiday weekend. Pound for pound, Catching Fire was a more riveting film for moviegoers than Mockingjay — hence the difference between their 3-day post turkey weekend grosses ($17.2M). Not to mention, last year, Frozen, a big time draw for females at 57% racked up $67.4M FSS. It was unopposed by another animated film in the market and benefited from the chicks spilling out of Catching Fire (Free Birds wasn’t a break out like Big Hero 6). Stack that up against the two toons in the market this weekend, Penguins and Big Hero 6, (together totaling $44.24M) and that’s $23.2M of family cash missing from the marketplace.
Other highlights: Sony expanded The Equalizer by 167 hubs, pushing the Denzel Washington shoot-em up over the century mark.
Top 20 weekend actuals from Rentrak Theatrical:
1). The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 (LG), 4,151 theaters / 3-day cume: $56.97M (-53%)/5-day: $82.6M/$13,725 average /Total cume: $225.68M/ Wk 2
2). Penguins of Madagascar (Fox/D’Works), 3,764 theaters (+110 from Wed) /3-day cume: $25.44M /$6,761 average/ 5-day cume: $35.4M /Wk 1
3). Big Hero 6 (DIS), 3,365 theaters (-285) /3-day cume: $18.8M (-6%)/5-day cume: 25.02M/$5,592 average/Total cume: $167.2M /Wk 4
4). Interstellar (PAR), 3,066 theaters (-349) / 3-day cume: $15.7M (+3%)/5-day: $21.96M/$5,135 average/ Total cume: $147M / Wk 4
5).Horrible Bosses 2 (WB/New Line), 3,375 theaters (+54) / 3-day cume: $15.46M (+3%)/5-day: $22.77M/$4,580 average/ Wk 1
6). Dumb and Dumber To (UNI), 3,130 theaters (-58)/ 3-day cume: $8.36M (-41%)/5-day cume:$11.66M /$2,670 average /Total cume: $72.2M/ Wk 3
7). The Theory of Everything (Focus), 802 theaters (+53) /3-day cume: $5.0M (+231%) /5-day: $6.4M/$6,248 average/ Total cume: $9.5/Wk 4
8). Gone Girl (FOX), 1,174 theaters (-435) 3-day cume: $2.47M (-13)/5-day: $3.25M/$2,100 average/ Total cume: $160.7M / Wk 9
9). Birdman (FSL), 710 theaters (-152) /3-day cume: $1.87M (+1%) /5-day: $2.4M/$2,640 average/ Total cume: $17.2M /Wk 7
10). St. Vincent (TWC), 1,251 theaters (-456) /3-day cume: $1.7M (-24%)/5-day: $2.275M/ $1,363 average/Total cume: $39.3M / Wk 8
11). Beyond the Lights (REL), 1,187 theaters (-579) / 3-day cume: $1.57M (-40%)/$1,323 average /Total cume:$12.7M/Wk 3
12). Fury (SONY), 1,059 theaters (-661) / 3-day cume: $1.545M (-20%) /$1,459 average/ Total cume: $81.9M / Wk 7
13). Foxcatcher (SPC), 72 theaters (+48) / 3-day cume: $937K (+115%)/ average $13,016/Total cume: $2M/Wk 3
14). Nightcrawler (OPRD), 570 theaters (-532) /3-day cume: $845K (-30%)/5-day: $1.16M/$1,483 average/ Total cume: $28.7M / Wk 5
15 ). John Wick (LG), 488 theaters (-484) /3-day cume: $561K (-36%)/$1,149 average/ Total cume: $41.6M / Wk 6
16). The Equalizer (SONY), 436 theaters (+167)/3-day cume: $483K (+73%)/ $1,107 average/Total cume: $100M /Wk 10
17.) The Imitation Game* (TWC), 4 theaters / 3-day cume: $479K/average $119,838/ Wk 1
18). The Guardians of the Galaxy (DIS), 285 theaters (-39) /3-day cume: $462K (-6%) /5-day: $629K/$1,621 average/ Total cume: $331.85M /Wk 18
19). Whiplash (SPC), 178 theaters (-153) /3-day cume: $453K (-8%)/ $2,547 average/Total cume: $3.9M / Wk 8
20). The Judge (WB), 415 theaters (-90) /3-day cume: $437K (-20%)/5-day: $590K/$1,059 average/ Total cume: $46.1M / Wk 8
NOTABLE:
Women Who Flirt (China Lion), 26 theaters, 3-day: $80K/5-day cume: $141K/Wk 1
Antarctica: A Year on Ice (Music Box), 8 theaters, 3-day: $32K/average $4,030/Wk 1
The Babadook* (IFC Midnight), 3 theaters, 3-day: $30K/average $10,002/Wk 1
Touch the Wall* (self distributed), 2 theaters, 3-day: $6K/Wk 1
Before I Disappear (IFC), 1 theater, 3-day:$2K/average $2,676/Wk 1
Aftermath (Freestyle), 1 theater, 3-day:$1K/average $1,124/Wk 1
Upcoming: 20th Century Fox will be opening The Pyramid at an estimated 550 theaters — next weekend’s only wide release. Fox Searchlight has Wild starring Reese Witherspoon bowing in five theaters in New York and LA, based on the New York Times Cheryl Strayed hiking-soul searcher memoir.
Previous, Sunday, 7:37AM: Liongate’s The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 feasted on a lot of bucks during the Thanksgiving stretch, grossing an estimated 5-day cume of $82.685M, the third-highest take for any film playing over the Wed-Sunday holiday span.
That number puts Mockingjay right behind the 5-day all-time Thanksgiving records of Catching Fire ($109.9M) and Frozen ($93.6M). Over the Friday-to-Sunday span, Mockingjay grossed $57.9M off a nice 53% from its opening weekend. Current cume for the threequel stands at $225.7M.
Mockingjay flew high despite a soft holiday headwind that grounded other debuts this weekend. Overall, the total estimated haul for all films over three days is expected to be $165M, down 21% from last year’s all-time record of $208.1M.
Now, though it’s down a lot, that figure isn’t excruciatingly bad; it’s on par with what the post-Turkey FSS was pulling down in 2011 and 2005. However, as Warner Bros. distribution chief Dan Fellman observes, “There’s lost money on the table.”
This is further underscored by the fact that Thanksgiving, while typically a low day (people go to the movies after dinner), was also off 21% from last year because Black Friday shopping starting earlier. While doorbusters typically occur at midnight Friday, some major chains were throwing open their doors at 5 or 6pm on Thanksgiving, and that put a dent in moviegoing.
“We need to look at this trend closer going forward,” said Fox distrib chief Chris Aronson.
So while both Penguins of Madagascar and Horrible Bosses 2 came in much lower than their estimates (respective five-day cumes of $36M and $23M), it’s not like audiences were walking out. In fact, the glowing response for both new releases will keep word of mouth going. Again, holiday moviegoing is a marathon, not a sprint (so DreamWorks Animation shareholders, don’t go freaking out tomorrow trying to unload stock. Just calm down. Animated films aren’t dead from their opening weekend).
Kids are the driving force with Penguins this holiday season, and they awarded the pungent birds with a 4 1/2 out of five-star rating. Cinemascore is A- (nothing to cry about here). 58% of the opening weekend crowd was under 25.
Drilling down further: 54% of the crowd was under the age of 10. Female/male ratio was 51%/49%. 3D repped 24% of the gross. Aside from those moms who opted to take their kids to Kohl’s and Best Buy instead of the movie theater, also eating Penguins’ dinner was Disney’s animated Big Hero 6 – which only fell 7% from last weekend with $18.8M over FSS and $26M over five.
Yes, this nation’s big enough to accommodate two kids’ pics in the marketplace – it would be interesting, though, to see how much higher Penguins would be if Big Hero 6 wasn’t around. However, the two have the nation’s multiplexes all to themselves before Sony’s Annie reboot and Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb shows up to distract kids on Dec. 19.
Dissecting HB2′s Cinemascore, the under 25ers at 41% loved it with an A-, and those are the folks who are gonna keep goin’ to the film next weekend, when there’s zero new wide releases (over 1,000-plus). Over 25 gave it a B, as well as males (51%). Females (49%) liked the film a bit more with a B+.
We called it out on Friday: Warner Bros. was gunning for the highest bow for an R-rated comedy over Thanksgiving, and they got it. 2003’s Bad Santa was the last one with a $12.3M three-day and $16.8M five-day. Seeing the opportunity to counter-program with bawdy laughs, Warner Bros. took it. Bad Santa‘s final cume of $60.1M was a 3.6 multiple of its five-day, and if HB2 emulates that, it will end its run somewhere in the low $80Ms.
Neither Bosses nor Penguins could knock Paramount’s Interstellar out of the top 5. The Christopher Nolan sci-fi drama took fourth, buoyed significantly by its IMAX hubs, generated $22M over five days. At 370 IMAX theaters stateside, Interstellar rang up $5.7M over three days (up 15% from last weekend) and $7.8M over five. IMAX share of Interstellar is 29% or $42M. The film is up 3% over last weekend (say it…say it…. “All right, all…”)
Multiplex foot action carried over to the arthouses where The Weinstein’s Co.’s The Imitation Game drew the year’s second-highest per screen with $120,517. Only Grand Budapest Hotel’s $202,792 average has been better this year. The debut is also the fifth highest of all-time.
Audiences stood up and clapped, giving the film an A+, while Deadline commenters cried that the Benedict Cumberbatch-Keira Knightley World War II drama wasn’t playing in their neighborhood (It’s four theaters in New York and LA this weekend, guys. Don’t worry, Denver; it will be there by Christmas Day at the latest).
Adults love the awards-contending fare that’s out there: The Theory of Everything saw a 236% boost from its 662-theater expansion, notching up to 7th place in the top 10. Birdman shed 152 theaters and still remained in the top 10, up 1% in its 3-day thanks to the holiday.
Below is the top 10 weekend estimates based on studio reporting:
1). The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part I (LGF), 4,151 theaters / $24.1M Fri. /$21.85M Sat. (-t%)/ $10.9M Sun. (-%) / 3-day cume: $56.87M (-53%)/5-day cume: $82.685M/Total cume: $225.7M/ Wk 2
2). The Penguins Of Madagascar (FOX), 3,764 theaters (+110 from Wed.) / $10.45M Fri. / $9.65M Sat. (-8%)/$5.7M Sun. (-41%)/3-day cume: $25.8M/ 5-day cume: $36M / Wk 1
3). Big Hero 6 (DIS), 3,365 theaters (-285) / $7.7M Fri. / $7.2M Sat. (-6%)/ $3.8M Sun. (-47%)/3-day cume: $18.77M (-7%)/5-day cume: $26M/ Total Cume: $167.2M /Wk 4
4). Interstellar (PAR), 3,066 theaters (-349) / $6.6M Fri. /$6.1M Sat. (-8%)/ $3.1M Sun. (-49%) / 3-day cume: $15.8M (+3%) /5-day cume: $22M/ Total cume: $147.1M / Wk 4
5). Horrible Bosses 2 (WB/New Line), 3,375 theaters (+54 from Wed.)/$6.2M Fri./$6.125M Sat. (-1%)/$3.375M Sun (-45%)/3-day cume: $15.7M/5-day cume: $23.0M/Wk 1
6). Dumb and Dumber To (UNI), 3,130 theaters (-58) / $3.38M Fri./ $3.396M Sat. (+17%)/ $1.519M Sun. (-55%)/3-day cume: $8.295M (-41%)/5-day cume:$11.6M/ Total Cume: $72.2M /Wk 3
7). The Theory Of Everything (FOC), 802 theaters (+662) / $1.93M Fri. /$1.97M Sat. (+2%)/$1.18M Sun. (-40%)/ 3-day cume: $5.08M (+236%)/ 5-day cume: $6.43M/Total cume: $9.6M / Wk 4
8). Gone Girl (FOX), 1,174 theaters (-435) / $1M Fri. /$1.01M Sat. (+1%)/ $457K Sun. (-55%)/ 3-day cume: $2.47M (-13%)/ 5-day cume: $3.26M/Total cume: $160.8M / Wk 9
9). Birdman (FSL), 710 theaters (-152) / 740K Fri. /$750K Sat. (+1%)/$390K Sun. (-48%)/3-day cume: $1.88M (+1%)/5-day cume: $2.4M/ Total cume: $17.2M /Wk 7
10). St. Vincent (TWC), 1,256 theaters (-451) / $719K Fri./ $680K Sat.(-5%)/ $374K Sun. (-45%)/3-day cume: $1.77M (-21%)/5-day cume:$2.34M/ Total cume: $39.3M / Wk 8
Notable:
Foxcatcher (SPC), 72 theaters (+48) /3-day cume: $1.03M (+118%)/Total cume: $2.1M / Wk 3
The Imitation Game* (TWC), 4 theaters / $181K Fri. /$177K Sat. (-2%)/$124K Sun. (-30%)/ 3-day cume: $482K/ Wk 1
Whiplash (SPC), 179 theaters (-152), 3-day: $496K (-6%)/Total cume: $3.96M/Wk 8
Women Who Flirt (China Lion), 26 theaters, 3-day: $80K/5-day cume: $141K/Wk 1
The Babadook* (IFC Midnight), 3 theaters, 3-day: $27K/Wk 1
Touch the Wall* (self distributed), 2 theaters, 3-day: $6K/Wk 1
*bowed Friday
threequel’s opening day (with previews) from a week ago, it was up 121% over its turkey day returns of $11.05M. Everyone was too full to go out to the multiplex last night, leaving moviegoing for either side of the holiday. By Sunday, even though Mockingjay will still trail Catching Fire and Hunger Games through its first 10 days, this bird might just have some records to sing about. After starting the holiday frame with a robust Wednesday of $14.55M, which is just above the respective pre-turkey Wednesdays of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 ($14.4M) and The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 ($12.4M), Mockingjay could chart a holiday five-day take in the low $80Ms. Should Katniss surpass $82.4M, the turkey five day cume of the first Harry Potter, she’ll own the holiday’s third highest Wednesday-Sunday haul behind Catching Fire ($109.9M) and Frozen ($93.6M). Bottom line: Mockingjay is no turkey. The Hunger Games threequel can rest easy and will likely hold the top bird title until Moses parts a red sea to the top spot of the box office on Dec. 12 with Exodus: Gods and Kings. There aren’t any frosh wide bows scheduled for next Friday that will exceed 1,000 theaters.In regards to DreamWorks Animation’s Penguins of Madagascar and Warner Bros./New Line’s Horrible Bosses 2, well, they’re comin’ up slow. Katniss wasn’t the only one kickin’ their butts, but Big Hero 6 was arguably stealing some of Penguins‘ turkey, while Interstellar looks like it had more gas Friday than HB2‘s nitrous oxide. Penguins and HB2 nabbed respective ratings of A- and B+, the latter the same as the first Horrible Bosses (which registered a final cume of $117.5M that was 4x its 3-day opening of $28.3M). However, similar to Katniss’ plight, they’re looking at the holidays as a marathon, not a sprint, even if both titles file figures below their projected low to mid $40M five-day estimates.Ya know, when the dust settles Monday morning, HB2 might be looking at some sort of low-bar industry record as the highest opening for a Thanksgiving R-rated comedy — because it’s arguably the only one to ever bow during the holiday. There was Fox’s R-rated Anne Hathaway-Jake Gyllenhaal 2010 feature Love and Other Drugs ($13.9M five-day cume) which bowed over Thanksgiving, but that was a romantic dramedy. Usually, the R-rated product unspooling during this stretch are action films, i.e. Enemy of the State, End of Days or dark ones like Sleepy Hollow. HB2 is expected to post a 96% surge of $6M over its turkey Thursday gross of $3.06M.Below are the industry Top 10 box office estimates as of late Friday courtesy of Deadline’s statistician Amanda Nduka:
1). The Hunger Games (LGF), 4,151 theaters (0) /$24.4M Fri. (-56% from first Friday)/ 3-day cume: $58.4M (-52%) / 5-day cume: $84M / Total cume: $227M/Wk 2
2). The Penguins Of Madagascar (FOX), 3,764 theaters / $10.4M Fri. / 3-day cume: $26.2M/ 5-day cume: $36.4-$38M / Wk 1
3). Big Hero 6 (DIS), 3,365 theaters (-285) / $7.75M Fri. / 3-day cume: $19.5M/ 5-day cume: $26.7M/ Total cume: $167.9M /Wk 4
4). Interstellar (PAR), 3,066 theaters (-349) / $6.7M Fri. / 3-day cume: $16.1M / 5-day cume: $22.3M/ Total cume: $147M / Wk 4
5). Horrible Bosses 2 (WB), 3,375 theaters / $6M Fri. / 3-day cume: $15.3M/ 5-day cume: $22-23M / Wk 1 (includes Tuesday night previews)
6). Dumb and Dumber To (UNI), 3,130 theaters (-58) / $3.4M Fri./3-day cume: $8.4M / 5-day cume: $11.7M/ Total cume: $72.3M /Wk 3
7). The Theory Of Everything (FOC), 802 theaters (+662) / $1.8M Fri. / 3-day cume: $4.6M / 5-day cume: $5.9M/ Total cume: $9.1M / Wk 4
8). Gone Girl (FOX), 1,174 theaters (-435) / $985K Fri. / 3-day cume: $2.5M/ 5-day cume: $3.3M/ Total cume: $160.8M / Wk 9
9). Beyond the Lights (REL), 1,187 theaters (-579)/ $790K Fri. / 3-day cume: $1.9M / 5-day cume: $2.4M / Total cume: $13.1M /Wk 3
10). Birdman (FSL), 710 theaters (-152) / 704K Fri. /3-day cume: $1.8M/ 5-day cume: $2.4M / Total cume: $17.2M /Wk 7
Noteworthy:
Whiplash (SPC), 178 theaters (-153) / $159K Fri. / 3-day cume: $159K / 5-day cume: $538K / Total cume: $3.8M / Wk 8
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