It was supposed to be a close race, but in the end, Big Hero 6 took the top spot. Disney Animation's latest managed to open in line with its lofty expectations, with $56.2 million, for a per-venue average of a strong $14,943. The superhero pic is the second-highest debut ever for the 80-year old animation studio, behind last year's Frozen, which had a massive $93 million 5-day start last Thanksgiving. Considering this is related to a Marvel comic book series, the strong debut is certainly not surprising. Yes it isn't on the level of Thor and Captain America, but for an animated title, its still a heck of a strong opening. For this year, Big Hero 6 ranks second to The LEGO Movie for animation. Reviews were strong (91% on Rotten Tomatoes), while the CinemaScore was a strong "A". Should it play well in the coming weeks (and it likely will), it could end up over $200 million stateside. Overseas should be strong as well thanks to its diverse setting.
Opening in second place with less-than-expected was the latest from Christopher Nolan, Interstellar. Following a decent two-day start from IMAX theaters, the space thriller couldn't quite go into blockbuster-level territory, instead winding up with $50 million, for a still-strong $14,041 average. Many analysts were thinking this could be a $75+ million opener, but slightly mixed reviews (73% on Rotten Tomatoes) may have gotten in the way. IMAX theaters did pull in a strong 25% of the gross, the highest share in history for the big-screen format. As far as related movies are concerned, Interstellar fell short of last year's Gravity ($56 million), though probably had similar attendance due to 3D surcharges helping out that movie. The CinemaScore was a B+, which was similar to Nolan's last original effort Inception (which debuted to $63 million in Summer 2010). This could play well, and will be something I'll definitely keep an eye on for at least the next month or so. The five-day IMAX start included, it has earned $52.2 million so far.
3rd-7th place were all within $600,000 of each other way down the list, so its possible most of these positions shift by tomorrow when actuals are reported.
Jumping up to third place in its sixth weekend was David Fincher's big hit Gone Girl, which was off 28% to $6.1 million. With $145.4 million in 37 days, the leggy hit could gross as much as $170 million by the time its run is complete. This should remain in the Top 10 through Thanksgiving. After topping the last two weekends, Ouija fell to fourth place but continued to hold admirably for a horror pic, off just 46% to $6 million. The board game adaptation remains on pace for over $50 million as it has earned $43.5 million in 17 days.
St. Vincent jumped two spots to fifth place in its fifth weekend, and was off a light 21% to $5.7 million. The critically-adored Bill Murray and Melissa McCarthy dramedy has earned $27.4 million so far and has more to come. Nightcrawler slid to sixth, and despite some of the best reviews all year for a movie, was off 47% to $5.5 million. The Jake Gyllenhaal pic is at a mediocre $19.8 million in 10 days and will probably not reach $30 million.
Fury continued to level off at a solid pace, off 38% to $5.5 million, for a solid $69.3 million in 24 days. The Brad Pitt war flick still has some steam left and may actually pass $80 million. John Wick was down 49% to $4.1 million in its third weekend, for a solid $34.7 million in 17 days and should end up double its $20 million budget.
Two family pics obviously affected by Big Hero 6 rounded out the list. Fellow Disney movie Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day was down 47% to $3.5 million, for a $59.2 million gross in one month of release. The Steve Carell pic should add anywhere between $5-10 million more. The Book of Life plummeted 66% to $2.8 million, and has earned a more subdued $45.2 million in 24 days, and has not much further to go.
That's it for this weekend. Next week, Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels challenge Baymax and the astronauts for first place with Dumb and Dumber To. Despite being highly-anticipated, will it be able to take the top spot? We'll find out next weekend.
Look out for the review for Alexander later this week.
