Like the previous two entries, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies held the top spot for a third-straight weekend. The final installment of Peter Jackson's trilogy was off 46% to $21.9 million, for a solid 19-day gross of $220.8 million. Armies is now running about $20 million ahead of Smaug, though with this installment opening five days later on the calendar, it seems likely the gap will probably close. The movie will likely not hold as well in the coming weeks as kids are heading back to school. It will all depend on holding power domestically and overseas to whether or not Armies will hit $1 billion worldwide.Repeating narrowly in second place, Into the Woods held decently, off 39% to $19.1 million, for a $91.2 million pick-up in 11 days. Woods should prove to at least play a bit better than Hobbit due to some minor awards season buzz. Overall, Woods had a better post-Christmas weekend than Les Miserables, but the overall gross trails that movie's $103 million gross (though that one opened on a Tuesday). Woods may wind up in the $125 million vicinity, if not more.
Also repeating in third place, Unbroken didn't quite hold on very strong, but that's typical for more adult-skewing films. Angelina Jolie's biopic of Louis Zamperini was off 40% to $18.4 million, for a strong 11-day pick-up of $87.8 million. With minor awards season buzz, Unbroken should play well in the coming weeks (though American Sniper may take away some audience in a couple weeks).
The weekend's lone new release did solid business in fourth place. The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death pulled in $15.1 million, averaging a decent $5,821 per-venue. That's off 25% from the original Woman in Black's $20.9 million opening weekend, but its higher than many expected. For all its worth, Black came close to Paranormal Activity: The Dark Ones' $18 million debut from last January. With a "C" CinemaScore and negative reviews, this sequel probably won't play out as well as the first movie, which earned a rare 3.5 multiplier (for a horror movie) due to solid word-of-mouth. Still though, with a small budget, 2 should find itself safely in the black.
Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb had terrific holding power over the holidays and held decently on the final weekend of the stretch. The final installment of the family franchise was down 28% to $14.5 million, for a decent $89.7 million in 17 days. Should it play out like The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader from this point onward, Tomb could reach $120 million by the time its done. While still not a great result considering the first two earned much more ($177 million and $254 million, respectively), its still not a flop regardless.
Annie also had a solid holiday season. The musical remake was down 31% to $11.4 million, for a very solid $72.6 million in 17 days. Annie will have some competition from Paddington and Strange Magic later this month, but if it can play well through Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend and beyond, there's a small chance it could approach $100 million by the time its done.
Up a spot to seventh, The Imitation Game actually increased 2% to $8.1 million, for a strong $30.8 million in 42 days. Game is looking to continue being in this list at least until the end of January, thanks to some likely Oscar nominations in just over a week. Look for at least $50-$60 million by the time it finishes up its run.
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part I has played extremely well throughout the holiday season, and is now on pace to pass Guardians of the Galaxy to become 2014's highest-grossing movie domestically. Part I was off just 23% in its seventh weekend to $7.7 million, and has earned $323.9 million in 49 days. At this rate, Mockingjay will likely close above $340 million.
Holding solidly after a so-so start, The Gambler was off just 31% to $6.3 million, for a decent, but unspectacular $27.6 million in 11 days. The Mark Wahlberg remake is playing better than its "C+" CinemaScore indicates and should finish around $40 million, if not a little bit more. Certainly not bad, but not great either.
Jumping back into the Top 10 in its ninth weekend, Big Hero 6 has played incredibly well since its opening back at the beginning of November. Disney Animation's latest hit was off just 4% from last weekend to $4.8 million, for a fantastic $211.3 million in 63 days.
Below the Top 10, Wild was off 17% to $4.5 million, for a $25.8 million pick-up in one month of release, despite adding 75 more locations. Exodus: Gods and Kings was off 45% to $3.7 million, for a mediocre $61.2 million gross in 24 days, and may not make it to $70 million. Penguins of Madagascar was off a light 13% to $2.9 million, but is still at a weak $78.1 million in 38 days. Big Eyes was off just 13% to $2.6 million, and is at a still-mediocre $9.9 million in 11 days. Interstellar was down 20% to $2.4 million, and is up to $182.7 million in 63 days. Top Five fell 46% to $2.1 million, for a mild $23.7 million in 24 days. The Theory of Everything was down just 9% to $1.15 million, for a solid $24.8 million gross in 63 days.
The Interview was down 39% to $1.1 million despite adding 250 locations, for a $4.9 million gross in 11 days.
