“Mockingjay” Short of Previous Installments, Tops 2014 Debuts
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 couldn’t quite reach the $150 million debuts of the franchise’s previous two films. Debuting at $123 million, Mockingjay – Part 1 managed to surpass Transformers: Age of Extinction as the largest opener of 2014.
Big Hero 6 maintained its second place spot with another $20.1 million. After 17 days, the animated film has passed $135 million. Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar continued a second week in third with $15.1 million. That puts Interstellar just over $120 million.
Last week’s champ Dumb and Dumber To fell three spots to fourth place. The comedy sequel grossed $13.8 million in its sophomore frame. Gone Girl rounded out the charts for a second weekend. The David Fincher film pulled in another $2.8 million in its eighth frame.
Note: These #’s are based on Sunday’s projections and can change with Monday’s actual #’s.
#1 – The Hunger Games: Mockingjay- Part 1 (NR)
$123.0 million / $123.0 million total
There was no doubt The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 would claim the top spot this weekend. The franchise has already boasted two $150 million openers. The first film broke the March opening weekend in 2012. Catching Fire followed suit last year setting a new November debut. Mockingjay’s opening can be both praised and criticized. It is the largest opening of 2014, even without the 3D and IMAX surcharges. Yet, it’s $35 million shy of Catching Fire’s debut. Compared to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 and The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1, the franchise was expected to drop off. The question now is if Mockingjay can still claim the domestic crown from Guardians of the Galaxy. The race will be very close.
#2 – Big Hero 6 (2)
$20.1 million / $135.7 million total
Big Hero 6 maintained its runner-up spot for the second consecutive week. Dropping 42% in its third frame, the Disney animated film continues to perform like Wreck-It Ralph. At this point, Big Hero 6 does have a $14 million advantage over Ralph, which assures at least a $200 million finish. The wild card here is how Penguins of Madagascar will perform over the holiday weekend.
#3 – Interstellar (3)
$15.1 million / $120.7 million total
Following last week’s trend, Interstellar dominated mid-week as the top film only to switch spots with family film, Big Hero 6. Even with Mockingjay’s massive debut, Interstellar shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. Fortunately for the Christopher Nolan film, Interstellar will continue play on IMAX screens until mid-December. IMAX ticket sales have greatly contributed to the overall haul. Word-of-mouth of seeing the film in this format hasn’t been too shabby either.
#4 – Dumb and Dumber To (1)
$13.8 million / $57.5 million total
The Jim Carrey sequel took the biggest hit this weekend dropping an alarming 62% from last weekend. After a 10-day total of nearly $58 million, Dumb and Dumber To looks less and less likely to crack the century mark. This would make the comedy sequel the biggest November opener to miss the milestone.
#5 –Gone Girl (5)
$2.8 million / $156.8 million total
Minimal competition kept David Fincher’s Gone Girl in the Top 5 for an eighth consecutive weekend. No film since Frozen little less than a year ago has been able to do so. With Horrible Bosses 2 and Penguins of Madagscar due out this Wednesday, this will be Gone Girl’s final week in the Top 5. Still, the Fincher flick is still on target for at least a highly impressive $160 million cume.
Opening Next Week: Horrible Bosses 2 (Wednesday), Penguins of Madagascar (Wednesday)
Source: Box Office Mojo
