The entire cinematic landscape volunteered as tribute against the behemoth that is The Hunger Games franchise this last weekend. Unsurprisingly, “Mockingjay Part 1” (our review here) ruled like weekend more than a tyrranical, dystopian government.
What is surprising is what these numbers mean in context. While their $123 million open is the largest opening weekend of 2014, it is lower than the original “Hunger Games'” $158 million opening and $152 million opening for “Catching Fire.” It’s also lower that “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1” which came in at $125 and “Breaking Dawn Part 1” at $138. I’m sure they’ll continue to make plenty of money over the Thanksgiving week, so don’t discount the rebels of Panem quite yet.
In the rest of the universe, “Big Hero 6” and “Interstellar” keep holding steady in second and third places. And while last week’s winner, “Dumb and Dumber To,” actually increased the number of theaters showing it, it dropped hugely to 4th place. Meanwhile, “Gone Girl” keeps chugging along, rounding out the top 5 again– it’s been in the top 5 every week since its release almost 2 months ago.
“The Theory of Everything” continues expanding its limited release, coming in 10th place with a tidy $1.5 million. If you are lucky enough to live near one of the 140 screens showing it, our review here highly recommends you check it out. Or look for an expanded release this Thanksgiving weekend?
| Rank | Title | Weekend Gross | % Change | Average | Total Gross | Week # | |||||
| 1 | The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 | $123,000,000 | – | $123,000,000 | 1 | ||||||
| 2 | Big Hero 6 | $20,086,000 | -42.1% | $135,708,000 | 3 | ||||||
| 3 | Interstellar | $15,100,000 | -46.7% | $120,692,000 | 3 | ||||||
| 4 | Dumb and Dumber To | $13,820,000 | -61.7% | $57,473,000 | 2 | ||||||
| 5 | Gone Girl | $2,815,000 | -38.3% | $156,823,000 | 8 | ||||||
A quick note on budgets and dollar figures:
Films making back their budgets is a good sign, but that is just the money to film. It doesn’t include distribution and marketing. Marketing can cost as much as a film. That big Superbowl spot is spendy. So take that into account when judging a films success. Hitting $100 million isn’t the same as it once was.
All dollar amounts in the top 5 come from estimates based on ticket sales unless noted otherwise. Occasionally this article will be published when actual results come out, which is usually late Monday afternoon. For more about this and other ins and outs of movie tracking click here.