Overall business was off an alarming 44% from this same weekend last year...though that isn't a direct apples-to-apples comparison, as this same weekend the last two years both debuted a Hobbit film (Desolation of Smaug opened to $73 million last year while the final entry opens next Wednesday).
As expected, Exodus: Gods and Kings debuted in first place, but it didn't have a debut worthy of its massive visuals. The Ridley Scott film opened to $24.5 million, for a per-venue average of only a decent $6,994. 20th Century Fox was wise to lower its expectations to the mid-20's millions, as it did meet those expectations. However, the debut was way lower than that of recent Biblical epic Noah ($44 million) and was only in line with The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader among mid-December movies of the past. While movies get off to slower starts in December usually and have typically long runs (sometimes they have 4-5 times their opening weekend), this really should have done better. Considering the negative reviews (28% on Rotten Tomatoes) and mixed audience reception (B- CinemaScore), this may struggle to reach $100 million in the U.S. Overseas should make up the difference, however (its done strong business in Asia so far with much more to go). Next weekend brings The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies to steal some of its audience. The budget was $140 million.After topping three weeks in a row, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part I had to surrender the throne, but it wasn't knocked for a loop. Instead, it actually held on pretty strong. The third installment of the franchise was off 40% to $13.2 million, for a huge $277.4 million in 24 days. Amazingly, that is the same amount earned by Catching Fire in its fourth weekend, which dropped about 50% in the face of The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug. That advantage on Mockingjay's potential gave it a bit of breathing room and allowed it to make up some ground.
Also holding on decently was Penguins of Madagascar, which was off a fairly light 33% to $7.3 million. However, the 19-day tally stands at a mediocre $58.8 million, or now about $2.5 million behind Rise of the Guardians through the same point. With Annie and Night at the Museum 3 opening Friday (though none of those are cartoons), it will be difficult for this to remain relevant through the rest of the holidays.
Debuting to very solid numbers in the fourth spot was Chris Rock's comedy Top Five. The R-rated flick opened to $7.2 million from just 979 locations, for a per-venue average of $7,365 (better than Exodus). With strong reviews (89% on Rotten Tomatoes), and apparently solid word-of-mouth (no CinemaScore available yet), this seems poised to expand throughout the holidays and become a major success. Top Five opened in line with expectations (Paramount estimated a $6-8 million opening), and had a fairly small pricetag (in the $10 million range).
Holding on strong for a sixth-straight weekend in the Top 5 is Disney's Big Hero 6, which was off a light 24% to $6.1 million. Proving to have strong word-of-mouth, Disney Animation's latest looks like it could play through the remainder of December (if it can hold onto its screens in the face of more competition for families). Hero is at $185.5 million in 37 days and will pass Wreck-it Ralph's final gross ($189 million) by next Sunday.
Also continuing to hold on in its sixth weekend is Interstellar. Christopher Nolan's latest was off a light 29% to $5.5 million, and is at a solid $166.8 million in 37 days. While it probably won't reach $200 million, the space epic is still proving to have much stronger holding power than anyone anticipated (especially for sci-fi films in general). The film is also a massive hit overseas, with the worldwide total passing $600 million this past week.
Horrible Bosses 2 fell to seventh and continues to play decently. The comedy sequel fell 45% to $4.6 million, but has only earned a minor $43.6 million in 19 days, or around half the amount the original earned through its third weekend. The Jason Bateman, Jennifer Aniston and company of lunatics should find their boss strike come to a halt just under $55 million.
Another crassy comedy followed in eighth as Dumb and Dumber To continues to stabilize. Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniel's rant of stupidity eased 36% to $2.8 million. The sequel will not reach the first movie's $127 million final gross, but for a $40 million pricetag, $82.1 million in one month of release is still enough to smile about.
Golden Globe contenders rounded out the list. Nominated for four Globes, The Theory of Everything was off 5% to $2.4 million despite adding almost 400 locations. Still though, the critically-adored Stephen Hawking adaptation is at $17.1 million in six weeks with much more to go. In just 116 theaters, Wild, which boasts a Best Actress nomination for Reese Witherspoon, earned a potent $1.55 million (a list-best $13,362 per-venue average). The dramedy should find more footing in the coming weeks also.
Next weekend, things heat up as Christmas break approaches. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies debuts on Wednesday sure to take the top spot, while Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb and the Annie remake debut on Friday to fight it out for family audiences. Who will succeed? Will the Sony hack, Golden Globes, or Robin Williams' unexpected passing boost all three of them? Or will they cannibalize each others' business?
