The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part Two held its ground and remained the number one choice at the North American box office over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Joining Katniss in celebrating the box office bounty were Disney’s The Good Dinosaur and MGM/New Line’s Creed, both which opened to strong numbers. The same could not be said for Fox’s Victor Frankenstein, which bowed to horrible numbers. Overall, it was a holiday Hollywood could give thanks for as business was up a healthy 10% over last year at this time.
It may have had opening numbers that represented a franchise low, but Mockingjay – Part Two displayed the best second week hold of any film in the series. The Katniss kiss off slid 50% from its debut to earn an estimated $51.6 million from 4,175 theaters, which brings its ten-day total to $198.3 million. Currently running 12% behind its 2014 predecessor, Mockingjay – Part Two could wind down its run around the $300 million mark. Overseas totals currently stand at $242 million.
The long-delayed Disney/Pixar feature The Good Dinosaur finally saw the light of day last Wednesday, where it opened on 3,749 screens. The latest animated offering from the Mouse House earned an estimated $39.2 million during the Friday-to-Sunday period and $55.6 million in its first five days. While those opening figures are impressive, they do pale in comparison to the typical grosses associated with the opening of a Pixar feature, such as the recent $90+ million start for this past June’s Inside Out.
Reviews overall were decent for the $200 million production. Dinosaur received a solid 77% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and families gave the feature an “A” on CinemaScore. The feature also opened in several overseas markets where it earned $24 million.
Landing in third place was the underdog of the holiday weekend, MGM/New Line’s boxing drama, Creed. The seventh entry in the long-running Rocky series and technically a reboot of the 1976 Oscar winner, Creed scored a TKO with both audiences and critics. The Michael B. Jordan headliner earned a great 93% approval rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes and an “A” from ticket buyers polled by CinemaScore. The strong feedback helped Creed go the distance on 3,404 screens where it earned $30.1 million for the weekend and $42.6 million since Wednesday. The $37 million production was directed by Fruitvale Station’s Ryan Coogler and also stars Sylvester Stallone, Tessa Thompson and Phylicia Rashad.
Rounding out the top five were two holdovers from the beginning of the month that continued to draw crowds. Sony/MGM’s SPECTRE landed in fourth place with an estimated $12.8 million from 2,940 theaters. Off only 15%, the latest 007 epic has scored $176 million after four weekends and is still gunning for $200-210 million by the end of its domestic run. The film’s global total currently stands at $700 million. Fox’s The Peanuts Movie landed in fifth with $9.7 million from 3,089 theaters. Its domestic total is $116.7 million with a $135 million domestic final a possibility for Snoopy and the gang.
One Fox title that would have killed to have a $10 million weekend was the third wide opener of the week, Victor Frankenstein. The critically slammed -23% on Rotten Tomatoes- horror feature opened on 2,797 screens where it was all but ignored by audiences. The Daniel Radcliffe/James McAvoy feature earned a pathetic $2.35 million over the weekend and a five-day total of $3.4 million, which was only good for twelfth place.
The remainder of the top ten:
- The Night Before (Sony) $8.2 million (-17%); $24 million
- The Secret In Their Eyes (STX) $4.5 million (-32%); $14 million
- Spotlight (Open Road) $4.4 million (+27%); $12.3 million
- Brooklyn (Fox Searchlight) $3.8 million (+230%); $7.3 million
- The Martian (Fox) $3.3 million (-13%); $218.6 million
Next weekend sees the box office quiet down a little as the Universal horror-comedy Krampus is the sole wide opener of the weekend. My recommendation? See Creed if you haven’t already. It’s superb.
