It was another relatively slow weekend at the box-office, despite there being a huge release that should have carried the load.
It seems that despite an all-star caliber cast and state-of-the-art visual effects, audiences were not that interested in this particular retelling of the story of Moses. There has been a lot of conversation surrounding the miscasting of the principal roles, that paid no heed to the cultural and ethnic background of the region. It’s possible that there was a quiet protest. Ridley Scott’s Exodus: Gods and Kings opened in first with a disappointing $24.5 million dollars. Another biblical epic, that seemed to get scrutiny was Noah, however Darren Aronofsky’s film opened to over $40 million dollars in March. With a budget of over $140 million dollars, the international market will have to save the day for Scott’s movie.
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Pt. 1 continued its successful run by adding another $13.2 million to their huge domestic total of over $277 million and counting. The blockbuster has already crossed the $600 million mark world-wide and the finale is on the way in less than a year.
Penguins of Madagascar collected $7.3 million dollars over the weekend. It seems the animated spin-off is running out of gas.
In its first week of release, the Chris Rock directed Top Five made $7.2 million dollars in its opening weekend, despite opening in less than a thousand theaters. The all-star comedy is collecting rave reviews and hopefully its release is expanded.
Big Hero 6 hung around in the top five for probably its last week and made another $6.1 million dollars. Disney officially has another float to add to their parade for years to come in Baymax. Get used to seeing that guy around.
Here is the complete breakdown for the weekend of 12/12-12/14:
| TW | LW | Title (click to view) | Studio | Weekend Gross | % Change | Theater Count /Change | Average | Total Gross | Budget* | Week # | |
| 1 | N | Exodus: Gods and Kings | Fox | $24,500,000 | – | 3,503 | – | $6,994 | $24,500,000 | $140 | 1 |
| 2 | 1 | The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 | LGF | $13,200,000 | -40.1% | 3,731 | -323 | $3,538 | $277,398,000 | $125 | 4 |
| 3 | 2 | Penguins of Madagascar | Fox | $7,300,000 | -33.1% | 3,667 | -108 | $1,991 | $58,839,000 | $132 | 3 |
| 4 | N | Top Five | Par. | $7,210,000 | – | 979 | – | $7,365 | $7,210,000 | – | 1 |
| 5 | 4 | Big Hero 6 | BV | $6,145,000 | -23.6% | 2,943 | -225 | $2,088 | $185,325,000 | $165 | 6 |
| 6 | 5 | Interstellar | Par. | $5,500,000 | -29.4% | 2,692 | -336 | $2,043 | $166,800,000 | $165 | 6 |
| 7 | 3 | Horrible Bosses 2 | WB | $4,630,000 | -45.0% | 3,202 | -198 | $1,446 | $43,601,000 | $42 | 3 |
| 8 | 6 | Dumb and Dumber To | Uni. | $2,757,000 | -35.6% | 2,842 | -246 | $970 | $82,117,000 | $40 | 5 |
| 9 | 7 | The Theory of Everything | Focus | $2,525,000 | -4.6% | 1,220 | +394 | $2,070 | $17,148,000 | $15 | 6 |
| 10 | 15 | Wild (2014) | FoxS | $1,550,000 | +155.4% | 116 | +95 | $13,362 | $2,423,000 | – | 2 |
| 11 | 10 | Birdman | FoxS | $1,325,000 | +15.2% | 606 | -132 | $2,186 | $20,794,000 | $18 | 9 |
Check out our Monthly Media Roundup for December to see what movies are releasing next week. What are you going to see next weekend? Let us know on the comment boards, and !
Source: Box Office Mojo