1. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay- Part 2- $51.6M/$198.3M
Holding on to the top spot throughout the Thanksgiving holiday was The Hunger Games: Mockingjay- Part 2, which earned $51M over the three day weekend and $75M since Wednesday. While the franchise finale got off to a weaker start than previous installments, it's still hit $440M worldwide after two weeks. That's about $30M less than the prior film, which is good enough to make everyone at Lionsgate seeing green at the prospect of future spinoffs, prequels, and whatever else they come up with.
2. The Good Dinosaur (review here)- $39.1M/$55.5M
So there's good news and bad news for Pixar and their second film of the year, The Good Dinosaur. The good news is that it continues a trend of successful animated debuts during the Thanksgiving holiday, with its $55.5M five-day haul the fourth biggest ever for the weekend. That said, the bad news is that it ranks as one of Pixar's lowest debuts ever, and if one counts only the $39.1M three-day total it's absolutely their worst. The much-delayed, creatively-troubled film about a world where the Big Bang never happened and dinosaurs exist alongside humans will still be a hit, but nobody is going to compare it to Inside Out which opened huge and has some major awards buzz circling it.
3. Creed (review here)- $30.1M/$42.6M
Yes yes, Hunger Games did well...The Good Dinosaur did well...but how did Creed do? I can't tell you how many questions there have been this week about the Rocky sequel, well for all intents and purposes that's what it is, starring Michael B. Jordan as the son of Rocky Balboa's frenemy, Apollo Creed. It opened big with $42.6M over five days and $30.1 over three, which may not sound like a lot but consider where this film was a year ago. At that time people were more likely to cover their faces at the idea of another movie about Rocky Balboa, much less one that isn't even really centered on him. And yet now you have Creed as one of the year's surprise critical darlings, and a possible dark horse in the awards race for director Ryan Coogler, Sylvester Stallone in a supporting role, and Jordan in the lead. For movies like this it's important to keep a certain perspective. Creed wasn't expected to be much, and yet here it is dealing one heck of a blow to the box office charts.
4. Spectre- $12.8M/$176M
5. The Peanuts Movie- $9.7M/$116.7M
6. The Night Before- $8.2M/$24.1M
7. Secret In Their Eyes- $4.5M/$14M
8. Spotlight- $4.4M/$12.3M
After four weeks the Catholic Church scandal drama Spotlight is only gaining in momentum as it chugs along to a likely Oscar nomination for Best Picture. The ensemble film starring Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Mark Ruffalo, and more jumped 27% after an increase of 299 theaters.
9. Brooklyn- $3.8M/$7.2M
Speaking of likely Best Picture nominees, Brooklyn finally stepped up into wider release and earned its biggest weekend yet with $3.8M. That's a jump of over 230% and with a $4500 per site average it's clear the strong word of mouth is powering this one. Personally it's my favorite movie of the year and hope to see it continue to do well.
10. The Martian- $3.3M/$218.6M
So wait a second...how does a film that boasts Daniel Radcliffe, freaking Harry Potter himself, and James "Professor Xavier" McAvoy have one of the worst opening weekends ever? Perhaps we should ask the geniuses behind Victor Frankenstein, an Odd Couple-esque comedy about Doctor Frankenstein and his pal, Igor, which earned a staggeringly bad $3.4M over five days. That $40M price tag is looking awfully far away.
