Overall business improved from last Thanksgiving by 11%, which was when Mockingjay - Part I took out Penguins of Madagascar and Horrible Bosses 2 to stay #1.
Thanks to the competition being a little weaker than expected (more on that in a minute), Katniss once again found herself on top for the third-straight Thanksgiving. The Hunger Games - Mockingjay: Part II was off just 49% over the three-day frame to $52 million ($76 million 5-day), for a decent $198.5 million gross in 10 days. In comparison, both Mockingjay - Part I and Catching Fire fell 53% over Thanksgiving weekend, but both earned more (Part I was at $225.7 million through the same point). With the weekend after Thanksgiving usually spelling trouble for everyone, I wouldn't count on Part II making up any ground. Instead, look for it to stabilize after next weekend and then get a boost after Christmas (after Star Wars opens). Overseas, the movie has reached $450 million worldwide with still much more to go. Overall, a success, but again, not the way Lionsgate probably would have wanted to send this franchise off.
Meanwhile, an animated newcomer once again wound up in the second slot, as Pixar's second movie of 2015 opened behind expectations. The Good Dinosaur pulled in $39.2 million over the three-day weekend ($10,444 per-venue average) and $55.5 million since its Wednesday start. In comparison, analysts were thinking of a 5-day debut north of $60 million. Considering Pixar hasn't had a movie debut under $60 million since A Bug's Life back in 1999, this at first glance would be considered a disappointing start. However, we should note that almost all Pixar movies have launched in the summer (since Finding Nemo [Monsters Inc. and The Incredibles were early-November releases]), and this is their first Thanksgiving release since Toy Story 2 in 1999. Summer movies make more business upfront than holiday releases, which usually hold better in the long run. So altogether, comparing this to most other Pixar releases would be a little unfair. However, Dinosaur will still need to have strong legs in the coming weeks if it wants to be a success (the budget here was reportedly between $175 and $200 million).The Good Dinosaur ended up with the fourth-biggest Thanksgiving debut on record, behind Frozen, Toy Story 2 and Tangled. Despite its widely-publicized controversial production history (it was originally set to open in May 2014 before being delayed thanks to a creative overhaul), The Good Dinosaur still earned solid reviews (76% on Rotten Tomatoes) and an "A" CinemaScore. It also got off to a decent start overseas ($29 million from 38 countries). So, I wouldn't be surprised in the end if Dinosaur wound up with at least $400-500 million worldwide. That should be enough to at least break even.
Meanwhile, in a rocky (pun not originally intended) year for distributor Warner Bros., the studio got some great news for their continuation of the Rocky franchise. Creed opened to a strong $29.6 million ($8,705 per-venue average), for a five-day start of $42.1 million. That edges out The Muppets for the 10th-biggest Thanksgiving debut on record. Creed exceeded expectations thanks to strong buzz and reviews (93% on Rotten Tomatoes). The CinemaScore was also strong (A). Fans of co-star Stallone's Rocky movies and the early light awards season buzz also helped the film out. In the end, this could play very well through the holiday season, especially if the Golden Globes recognizes it. The budget was a light $35 million.Spectre had a very solid hold over Thanksgiving, off just 14% to $12.9 million ($18.1 million 5-day). James Bond's 24th adventure has earned a good $176.1 million in 24 days, and remains on track for a final gross above $200 million, making it the second-biggest Bond movie after Skyfall in the U.S. Overseas, Spectre continues to be huge, with the worldwide gross passing $750 million.
The Peanuts Movie held a Top 5 spot, but it failed to hold strongly over Thanksgiving, thanks to competition for The Good Dinosaur. Peanuts was off 26% to $9.7 million over the 3-day period ($13.6 million 5-day), for a decent, if unspectacular $116.8 million gross in 24 days. Peanuts will have two more weeks before Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip arrives. I would look for a final gross around $140 million, which would be in line with another Blue Sky Studios film, Rio.
The Night Before recovered nicely after its so-so start last weekend, off just 15% for the 3-day to $8.4 million ($11.8 million 5-day), for a very decent $24.3 million gross in 10 days. Being Christmas-themed (and no R-rated comedy competition coming for a few weeks), this should hold well next weekend. The Secret in Their Eyes, on the other hand, was down 34% to $4.4 million ($5.9 million 5-day). The Julia Roberts and Nicole Kidman flick has earned a disappointing $14.3 million in 10 days, and it looks like $25 million is the ceiling at this point.
Expanding to 900 locations, possible Oscar contender Spotlight had a strong Thanksgiving, up 25% over the three-day to $4.4 million ($5.6 million 5-day), for a solid $12.3 million gross since its limited debut 24 days ago. Spotlight is well-positioned to possibly remain in this list through the end of the year (if it can continue to expand). Another possible Oscar contender, Brooklyn, expanded to 850 locations, and earned $3.9 million over the 3-day frame ($5 million 5-day). The Saorise Ronan romance is at a solid $7.4 million since its limited debut four weeks ago.
Rounding out the Top 10 in its ninth week of release was Ridley Scott and Matt Damon's The Martian. The leggy fall holdover was off 15% over the three-day period to $3.2 million ($4.4 million 5-day), for a huge $218.5 million gross in 63 days. There's a decent chance Martian catches The Bourne Ultimatum ($227 million) to become Damon's biggest movie of his career domestically. Overseas, the space epic opened to a huge $50 million in China, and is at a huge $550 million worldwide so far.
Love the Coopers was off 26% to $3.1 million over the 3-day ($4.3 million 5-day). The holiday comedy has earned a modest $20.6 million in 17 days.
Opening in 12th place, Victor Frankenstein flopped with just $2.5 million over the 3-day ($883 per-venue average, $3.6 million 5-day). The Daniel Radcliffe thriller was barely marketed by distributor Fox and received terrible reception from audiences and critics (10% on Rotten Tomatoes, "C" CinemaScore). It did, however, get off to a decent $10 million start from 24 overseas markets. The budget here was $40 million.
Next weekend, post-Thanksgiving blues will steer business toward one of the lowest it has been all year. The lone new release, holiday horror flick Krampus, has had some solid buzz, but it may or may not be able to get off to a good start. We will see what happens.
