Early estimates are in for the weekend of November 21-23, 2014.
#1 – The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1
I’m sad to report how big a fall the penultimate entry in the franchise took in its opening, down about $30 million for a $123M weekend. That being said, there were a few factors going against this movie that looked to affect its gross. For one, the games are over. Trailers clearly previewed a movie full of propaganda and the beginnings of a war, which is presumably less of a must-see event than teens fighting to the death. Having seen the movie myself, I saw this factor at large when a group of kids complained saying, “That was boring, not enough people died.” Yes, I am worried about the future of our country. Two, there’s this curse around movies that causes the next-to-last chapter to underperform, and even Katniss Everdeen couldn’t escape that. Still, this was an intense series entry full of political intrigue and powerhouse performances and if all holds well, it should be able to translate that “biggest opening of the year” to “biggest domestic grosser of the year.”
#2 – Big Hero 6
The next Frozen? Nope, that possibility is long gone now. The animated Disney flick had another okay hold to bring in $20M this weekend. Its total now stands at $135.7M. With the holidays still ahead of us, good luck to parents whose kids are out of school and will still show up in hordes to see this movie. Overall, there is still hope that this could possibly pass $200M domestically. In other words, fingers are crossed that this flick will be able to do half of what Frozen did.
#3 – Interstellar
Speaking of minor disappointments, Christopher Nolan’s newest film continues to be somewhat unspectacular, by standards set by his previous films, anyway. The inter-dimensional travel pic had a $15.1M weekend for a $120.7M total and counting. What’s sad is that these top three films are all bringing in great numbers but none of the trio can stand up against their predecessors.
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#4 – Dumb and Dumber To
I’m going to be nice and say it was the intense level of competition at the box office that caused this sequel to drop like a rock. With a $13.8M weekend and a $57.4M current total, things are no longer looking so great for the Jim Carrey-Jeff Daniels film. If there’s anything to get out of this flick, it’s that the two stars’ recent lack of success has more to do with the vehicles they choose and less to do with the actors themselves.
#5 – Gone Girl
Oh Gone Girl, you just won’t quit, will you? For the umpteenth time, the mystery thriller remained in the top five with a $2.5M weekend to bring its total to $156.8M. It’s strange to me that this hasn’t led to any conversation about Sharp Objects, but I guess we’ll see sooner or later whether lightning can strike twice for a Gillian Flynn adaption.
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#6 – Beyond the Lights: $2.6M weekend
$10.1M total
#7 – St. Vincent: $2.3M weekend
$36.6M total
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#8 – Fury: $1.9M weekend
$79.1M total
#9 – Birdman: $1.9M weekend
$14.4M total
#10 – The Theory of Everything: $1.5M weekend
$2.8M total
pic: https://latimesherocomplex.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/la_ca_1023_hunger_games_078.jpg
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