Mockingjay still rules box office roost
LOS ANGELES — The Thanksgiving holiday had moviegoers hungry for boxoffice leftovers.
In its second weekend, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 1 topped the box office again, grossing $82.7 million in the U.S. and Canada over the five-day holiday. The Lionsgate film has pulled in $480 million worldwide to date.
But the holiday wasn’t as generous to newcomers Penguins of Madagascar and Horrible Bosses 2, both of which opened the day before Thanksgiving.
Twentieth Century Fox’s animated Penguins of Madagascar debuted at No. 2 with $35 million. Meanwhile, the Warner Bros.-distributed comedy Horrible Bosses 2 rounded out the top five with $23 million.
Going into the weekend, the odds were in the Hunger Games franchise’s favor. While some critics called Mockingjay — Part 1 a solid segue, others complained that the two-part approach to the finale feels like a cheap cashin.
Penguins of Madagascar, the spinoff of DreamWorks Animation’s Madagascar franchise, attracted younger audiences and families. An estimated 58 percent of moviegoers were younger than 25. Females made up 51 percent of the audience.
The PG-rated film follows penguins Skipper, Kowalski, Rico and Private as they work with undercover organization The North Wind to stop Dr. Octavius Brine from destroying the world. Benedict Cumberbatch and John Malkovich voice some of the characters.
By comparison, the third installment in the PG-rated Madagascar franchise opened with a healthy $60.4 million in 2012. Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa opened with $63.1 million in 2008 and ultimately collected $603.9 million worldwide.
Meanwhile, raunchy Rrated Horrible Bosses 2 didn’t end up hitting its $40 million projections. Though it notched a B-plus rating on CinemaScore, it earned a 35 percent “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
The Sean Anders-directed film, which cost about $43 million to make, brings back comedic trio Nick (Jason Bateman), Kurt (Jason Sudeikis) and Dale (Charlie Day). It also stars Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Spacey, Jamie Foxx and Chris Pine.
Like its 2011 predecessor Horrible Bosses, which opened to $28.1 million, the film catered to largely older, male audiences. About 59 percent of moviegoers were older than 25 and males made up 51 percent of audiences.
In its sixth weekend at the box office, Disney’s Big Hero 6 stayed strong at No. 3. The film has grossed $167.2 million in the U.S. and Canada and $56.9 million overseas, making its global haul $224.1 million to date.
Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar also held steady at No. 4. It was up 3 percent from last weekend, adding $22 million over the five-day period. To date, the film has pulled in $147 million in the U.S. and Canada.
Focus Features’ The Theory of Everything moved from No. 10 to No. 7 as it expanded into more theaters.
The film, which has a solid 83 percent “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes, is based on Jane Hawking’s memoir, Travelling to Infinity: My Life With Stephen. It stars Eddie Redmayne as Stephen Hawking and Felicity Jones as Hawking’s wife, Jane Wilde.