As expected, it was Katniss that topped the weekend box office. However, it ended up much lower than anticipated as the final installment to the Hunger Games saga managed a $101 million debut, for a still-strong $24,198 per-venue average from 4,175 locations. In comparison, Mockingjay - Part I opened to $121.7 million on this same weekend last year, while Catching Fire pulled in a record $159 million from this same weekend two years ago. That kind of drop from second installment to the finale is, on one hand, alarming, considering the final Harry Potter movie jumped up to a record, and Twilight remained in the same range as its second and third films. It also shows signs that audiences aren't exactly buzzing about this franchise as much as they used to be (Part I earned mixed word-of-mouth to boot). Also, America coming off of a violent terror event in Paris as well as winter weather in the North may have kept some audiences away from multiplexes as well.On the other hand, though, for this type of film, an opening above $100 million should never be called a disappointment. Part II still had the year's 5th-biggest opening, and in comparison to other sequels, still maintained a larger percentage of its audience in comparison to sequels of most other films. Part II received solid reviews (71% on Rotten Tomatoes, ahead of Part I but not near the first two), and an "A-" CinemaScore. It may or may not be able to top Thanskgiving weekend like its predecessors (it will all depend on how The Good Dinosaur fares), and Star Wars: The Force Awakens may take out everyone in mid-December. But, Katniss and co. should still be good to remain in theaters through the Holidays.
Overseas got off to a very good start, though, once again, down from its predecessor. Opening day-and-date in 87 territories (including China), the final installment earned $147 million, for a $248 million worldwide launch. In comparison, Part I earned $154 million overseas in its first weekend without the help of China. However, the attacks on Paris limited business in a lot of European countries, so that could have held overall admissions back. In the end, this will easily surpass $600 million worldwide, if not $700 million if audiences catch back up with it later in Europe. The budget was $160 million.
With Katniss' arrival, James Bond took a direct hit as Spectre fell 57% to $14.6 million, for a still very solid $153.7 million pick-up in 17 days. Spectre should have a nice hold over Thanksgiving, and is still set to possibly finish above $200 million stateside. Overseas, the new Bond continues to do huge business, with over $650 million worldwide picked up in four weeks.
Despite no added competition, The Peanuts Movie continued to show signs of being front-loaded for a family movie. The animated adaptation of the classic comic strips and TV specials was off another 47% to $12.8 million, for a fairly solid $98.9 million gross in 17 days. Peanuts does, unfortunately, get direct competition from The Good Dinosaur on Wednesday, but it should still get a boost from the Thanksgiving holiday.
Meanwhile, opening in fourth place with less-than-expected was R-rated Christmas comedy The Night Before. Despite there not being any R-rated comedies since the summer, The Night Before only managed to gross $10.1 million, for a mild per-venue average of $3,412. Sony had expected $12-13 million. I'm not sure why this under-performed, maybe opening against Katniss wasn't such a good idea. Or maybe Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen and Anthony Mackie really aren't box office draws. The film did receive decent reviews (64% on Rotten Tomatoes) and an "A-" CinemaScore, plus Christmas-related movies do get solid multiples. So, if it can hold onto screens through mid-December, it could turn into a leggy hit. Distributor Sony produced the film for $25 million.
The last new wide release, The Secret in Their Eyes, failed to pull in much of an audience. Opening in fifth place, the crime thriller managed $6.6 million, for a dismal $2,773 per-venue average. This is the lowest debut to date for Julia Roberts (in wide release), not to mention it doesn't help for box office drawpower for Chewetel Ejiofor and Nicole Kidman. In the end, this might get boosted by Thanksgiving, but it probably won't play much beyond that. The budget here was $19.5 million, and the reviews weren't great (42% on Rotten Tomatoes). In the end, newbie distributor STX Entertainment won't find the same success here than it did with The Gift ($12 million opening).Following its decent debut last week, Love the Coopers fell 53% to $3.9 million, for a mild $14.9 million 10-day gross. It will get boosted by Thanksgiving, but again, won't do much beyond that. The Martian followed in its eighth weekend, and had its impressive holding streak broken thanks to Katniss. Matt Damon and Ridley Scott's well-received outer space drama dropped 45% to $3.7 million, for a still fantastic $213 million gross in 56 days. It has also earned close to $500 million worldwide with Asia still yet to open.
Possible Oscar contender Spotlight expanded to 598 locations and earned a solid $3.6 million, for a solid $5.9 million pick-up since its limited debut 17 days ago. The true story-based dramedy averaged a solid $6,026 per venue and looks to continue playing well through awards season. The 33, following its dismal opening last week, plummeted 61% to $2.2 million, for a disappointing $9.9 million gross in 10 days with not much further to go.
Rounding out the Top 10 in its sixth weekend was Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks in Bridge of Spies. The potential Oscar contender broke its strong hold streak, falling 54% to $1.9 million. The Cold War thriller is at $65.2 million in 42 days, or over four times its opening weekend.
Thanksgiving weekend is up next (one of my favorite weekends to track), and its sure to be a solid one with Pixar releasing their second film of 2015 with The Good Dinosaur. Rocky gets a successor of sorts with the well-reviewed Creed, and Daniel Radcliffe stars in Victor Frankenstein, adapted from the famous Mary Shelley story. Its sure to be an exciting weekend, check on here starting Wednesday for tracking.
Reviews for Goosebumps and Mockingjay - Part II will be posted next weekend.
