Mockingjay pt2 tops busy Thanksgiving weekend

LOS ANGELES (AP):

Despite some mighty competition, Katniss and her crew dominated the box office once again.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 held on to its first-place spot in its second weekend in cinemas, earning US$51.6 million to top The Good Dinosaur and Creed (which both debuted last Wednesday), according to Rentrak estimates on Sunday.

The fourth and final installment in Lionsgate's highly successful series has grossed US$198.3 million to date.

Audiences had their pick of genres over the crowded Thanksgiving weekend. Disney and Pixar's animated dinosaur movie took second place, bringing in US$39.2 million from Friday through Sunday. Creed, a new entry into the Rocky Balboa canon, came in third with US$30.1 million.

Families accounted for 79 per cent of The Good Dinosaur's audience. The film, which cost a reported US$175 million to US$200 million to produce, grossed US$55.6 million in its first five days in cinemas.

HIGH-QUALITY STORYTELLING

"This Pixar group has just been so consistent with high-quality storytelling that appeals to all audiences. This weekend's result is another testament to the way they do things," said Dave Hollis, executive vice-president of Distribution for Disney. "We are off and running in a great way and also set up for a very, very long run."

Creed came out swinging. The critically acclaimed Ryan Coogler-directed film focuses on the character of Apollo Creed's son, Adonis (Michael B. Jordan), who wants his own shot in the ring with the help of Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone). The film cost US$35 million to make and has earned US$42.6 million over five days.

Its audience has been largely male and over age 25, according to exit polls.

"This is a movie that played broadly everywhere. You expect it to do well in the big markets and even the medium-sized markets, but the small markets were just fantastic," said Jeffrey Goldstein, executive vice-president of Domestic Distribution for Warner Bros. "The boxing element really resonates."

Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Rentrak, said the indie sensibilities, critical response and stellar cast have made Creed the movie to see right now.

"This is a movie that's going to go the distance," Dergarabedian said.

The James Bond film Spectre with US$12.8 million, and The Peanuts Movie, with US$9.7 million, rounded out the top five.

Victor Frankenstein was not so lucky. The US$40 million revival of Mary Shelley's monster classic, starring James McAvoy and Daniel Radcliffe, proved lifeless in cinemas, earning just US$2.35 million from Friday to Sunday.

Awards hopeful The Danish Girl, starring Eddie Redmayne as the transgender artist Lili Elbe, also opened in four cinemas with a solid US$185,000.

THE LONG HAUL

No records were broken this Thanksgiving weekend, but that's more of a sign of a crowded slate than the health of the box office, Dergarabedian said.

"Rankings are not as important this weekend as how these films can play for the long haul," he said. "I haven't seen this crowded of a marketplace in years. I don't know how anyone would have time to see everything."

The following are the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at United States and Canadian cinemas, according to Rentrak.

1. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2, US$51.6m (US$62m international).

2. The Good Dinosaur, US$39.2m (US$28.7m international).

3. Creed, US$30.1m (US$2.3m international).

4. Spectre, US$12.8m (US$30.4m international).

5. The Peanuts Movie, US$9.7m.

6. The Night Before, US$8.2m.

7. The Secret In Their Eyes, US$4.5m.

8. Spotlight, US$4.5m

9. Brooklyn, US$3.8m

10. The Martian, US$3.3m (US$51.4m international).

The following are the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at international cinemas (excluding the US and Canada), according to Rentrak:

1. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2, US$62m.

2. The Martian, US$51.4m.

3. Spectre, US$30.4m.

4. The Good Dinosaur, US$28.7m.

5. Our Times, US$13m.

6. Victor Frankenstein, US$10m.

7. Inside Men, US$9.7m.

8. Bridge of Spies, US$7m.

9. The Vanished Murderer, US$6m.

10. Spanish Affair 2, US$5.7m