The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 is predictably leading the holiday box office, with a solid $11.1 million debut on Thanksgiving and $14.5 million on Wednesday.
Currently, the third installment to the franchise has managed to accumulate a domestic total of $168.6 million, according to studio estimates. In addition to its success, the film has passed the $200 million in worldwide box office with $370 million since opening on November 21st.
The week’s other new releases are Penguins of Madagascar and Horrible Bosses 2. The Madagascar animated spin-off, which cost $132 million to produce, debuted with $6.2 million on Wednesday and took in $3.9 million on Thursday. The film was expected to bring in between $42 million to $44 million for the five days through Sunday, but it may fall short considering its current $10.2 million haul.
Appealing to the older audience is New Line’s Horrible Bosses 2 with $3.1 million in ticket sales from Thanksgiving Day showings, giving it a total of $7.3 million since opening on Wednesday. The raunchy R-rated comedy brings back Jason Sudeikis, Charlie Day and Jason Bateman as a trio of luckless criminals, and introduces Christoph Waltz and Chris Pine. The film was expected to gross $40 million or more domestically through Sunday.
Still going strong is Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar with $3 million on Thanksgiving. The space odyssey is expected to bring in $20 million over the holiday weekend as it benefits from its continued presence on Imax screens.
The Steven Hawking biopic, The Theory of Everything, grossed $727,000 on Thursday and has made $4.5 million since opening on November 7th. It will continue to grow as it moves from 140 theaters to 802 domestic locations on Friday (November 28th).
Last year’s Thanksgiving victors were Catching Fire and Frozen with $110 million and $93 million, respectively. The two films are ranked as the top two highest grossing films in the holiday’s history.
