by Matt Marshall
Hollywood has a new queen at the weekend box office. Last week’s runner-up Frozen swapped spots with The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, adding another $31.6 million in its second weekend of wide release. The Disney animated fairy tale grossed over $134 million so far with $200-250 million still on the radar.
In second place, Catching Fire burned up much of its lead over The Hunger Games, falling 64% from Thanksgiving weekend. Grossing $27 million in its third frame, the sequel now sits above Spider-Man 3 in the top domestic charts with a $336.7 million total.
Out of the Furnace crawled out the gate this weekend with a $5.3 million opening. The Christian Bale drama opened in 2101 theaters, snagging third place. Thor: The Dark World dropped one spot to fourth, while Delivery Man bounced back on the charts to round out the Top 5.
Note: These #’s are based on Sunday’s projections and can change with Monday’s actual #’s.
#1 – Frozen (2)
$31.6 million / $134.3 million total
Frozen isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Entering the holiday season as the sole animated film, Frozen is the go-to movie for families. Especially if the young ones aren’t ready for The Desolation of Smaug. Audiences have already warmed up to Disney’s new ice queen and Olaf the Snowman. Frozen continues to outperform $200 million hits Tangled and Toy Story 2. So expect the film to cross the double century mark before year’s end.
#2 – The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (1)
$27.0 million / $336.7 million total
Thanksgiving’s over and Catching Fire is losing momentum. Large dips are expected in the first post-Thanksgiving frame, but a 64% from last weekend is alarming. The last two Twilight movies held slightly better dropping 60%. Both films missed the $300 million mark after strong projections. Catching Fire is still aiming for at least $409 million to knock off Iron Man 3. The road is not as easy as it was a week ago.
#3 – Out of the Furnace (NR)
$5.3 million / $5.3 million total
Opening the first weekend after Thanksgiving is never a good idea. Out of the Furnace follows last year’s Killing Them Softly and 2010’s The Warrior’s Way as another frame opener under $7 million. A 52% score on Rotten Tomatoes and a C+ grade on CinemaScore didn’t help matters. But at least Christian Bale might have better luck at the box office with American Hustle later this month.
#4 – Thor: The Dark World (3)
$4.7 million / $193.6 million total
Thor: The Dark World needs only one more kick to push it over $200 million. Like the rest of the holdovers, the post-Thanksgiving frame wasn’t kind to the God of Thunder. Thor: The Dark World is expected to lose many theaters this coming weekend. The milestone won’t be broken at least for two weeks.
#5 – Delivery Man (6)
$3.8 million / $24.8 million total
Seeing Delivery Man back on the top charts is the biggest surprise of the week. Struggling for weeks, the Vince Vaughn comedy finally held stronger than any mainstream movie this weekend. That of course excludes awards hopefuls, Nebraska, Dallas Buyer’s Club, The Book Thief and Philomena. A $30 million finish is still far less than what the studios were hoping for.
Opening Next Week: The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, A Madea Christmas, American Hustle (limited), Saving Mr. Banks
Source: Box Office Mojo
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Matt Marshall is a YouTube movie reviewer who hosts MNMreviews. He has a B.A. in Communications/Journalism from St. John Fisher College and resides in Rochester, NY.
