Krampus was no match for Katniss at the North American box office this weekend as Lionsgate’s The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part Two held on to the number one spot for a third weekend in a row. The popular sequel held off a solid bow for the low-budget Universal horror comedy, which scared up enough business to land in second place.
The weekend after Thanksgiving is usually a quiet one at the multiplexes as people become occupied with holiday shopping and festivities. This year was a little different, however. Business for the post-Turkey Day frame was up a sizeable 27% over totals from the same time last year.
The final installment in the Hunger Games series held on to 4,086 locations where it earned an estimated $18.6 million, a 64% decrease in sales from one week ago. After three weeks of release Mockingjay Part Two has earned $227 million. The film continues to trail behind last year’s Hunger Games offering by approximately 12% domestically and seven percent overseas. Speaking of the latter, Mockingjay Part Two added $32 million this weekend to bring its overseas total to $297 million.
Budgeted at $15 million, the Universal/Legendary feature Krampus surprised many with its $16 million debut from 2,902 screens. The film’s $5,520 per screen average was the highest in the top ten. The Michael Dougherty-directed feature, which stars Adam Scott, David Koechner and Toni Collette, received decent reviews from the nation’s critics. Krampus’ approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes stands at 63%, which is quite good for the horror genre.
It was a fight for third place as the estimated numbers for Warner’s Creed and Disney/Pixar’s The Good Dinosaur were separated by a mere $28,000. The two holdovers could switch places come Monday afternoon when actual box office numbers are released.
Creed held fast on 3,424 theaters in its second round thanks to strong word-of-mouth from ticket buyers. The acclaimed boxing drama earned $15.54 million, a drop of 48% from its Thanksgiving weekend debut. After ten days, the Ryan Coogler film has earned $65 million so far and could reach the $100 million mark by the end of its domestic run.
Disney’s The Good Dinosaur, on the other hand, isn’t feeling as much love from its target audience. The 60% drop the $200 million production encountered this weekend tied with Cars 2 as the biggest second week drop of any film in Pixar’s 20-year history. The $15.51 million earned from 3,749 screens this weekend brings the film’s ten-day total to $76 million, which is roughly $15 million less than what Inside Out brought in during its first three days. Foreign sales currently stand at $55.4 million.
Rounding out the top five was Sony’s James Bond flick SPECTRE with $5.4 million from 2,840 theaters. Off 58%, the Daniel Craig film has earned $184.5 million in domestic sales and an additional $607 million from foreign markets.
The remainder of the top ten:
- The Night Before (Sony) $4.9 million (-41%); $32 million
- The Peanuts Movie (Fox) $3.5 million (-64%); $121.4 million
- Spotlight (Open Road) $2.9 million (-34%); $16.6 million
- Brooklyn (Fox Searchlight) $2.4 million (-38%); $11.2 million
- The Secret in their Eyes (STX) $1.9 million (-56%); $17.2 million
Next weekend sees the arrival of Warner’s whale tale In The Heart of the Sea and the nationwide expansion of Universal’s British gangster flick Legend.
