As it was scripted, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2, took first place at the box-office this past weekend. The final installment in the groundbreaking series scored an estimated $101 million dollars in its debut. However, the opening is the lowest debut in the franchise’s history, which is a sign that the series is winding down at the right time. Previous installments have had openings ranging from $158 to $121 million dollars. This is certainly a sign that the mixed reaction to Mockingjay Part 1 has lingered, tempering some momentum that should have accumulated for the final installment. This may also be a telling signal that YA franchises may be running their course.
In its third week of release, Spectre collected another $14.6 million dollars to add to its domestic total. It has made an estimated $153 million dollars in the U.S., only a fraction of the announced $245 million dollar production budget. However, the James Bond adventure has already made well over $500 million dollars at the worldwide box-office, which secures its financial success. It will be interesting to see the approach to the next film in the series. Will it still be grounded? Campy? Is Daniel Craig going to return? We will find out soon…
The Peanuts Movie continued to cruise in its third week. The newest adventures of Charlie Brown and Snoopy seems to be connecting with audiences, as it collected another estimated $12.8 million dollars over the weekend. The animated family film is on the verge of crossing the $100 million dollar mark, which would eclipse its production budget. It’s easy to imagine that the movie will also benefit from the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, since the Peanuts have been staples during this time for generations.
The biggest surprise of the weekend was the debut of The Night Before. The adult holiday comedy made an estimated $10.1 million dollars in its debut weekend, which is terribly low for a Seth Rogen led movie. Next year he will be coming out with Neighbors 2, which is the sequel to one of his biggest hits. We will see if fans are simply growing tired of his routine, or if there is a smaller market for holiday stoner comedies than was anticipated.
Rounding out the top five is another new entry, The Secret in their Eyes. The drama led by Julia Roberts and Chiwetel Ejiofor made an estimated $6.6 million dollars in its first week of release. The movie which seems to be a throwback to 90’s era revenge thrillers, had a mildly disappointing opening since it was released in more than 2,300 theaters. However, the fact that it placed in fifth is a signal of a healthy box-office that is full of variety for moviegoers.
Here is the complete Box-Office breakdown for the weekend of November 20th-22nd, 2015.
| TW | LW | Title (click to view) | Studio | Weekend Gross | % Change | Theater Count /Change | Average | Total Gross | Budget* | Week # | |
| 1 | N | The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 | LGF | $101,025,000 | – | 4,175 | – | $24,198 | $101,025,000 | – | 1 |
| 2 | 1 | Spectre | Sony | $14,600,000 | -56.7% | 3,659 | -270 | $3,990 | $153,702,879 | $245 | 3 |
| 3 | 2 | The Peanuts Movie | Fox | $12,800,000 | -46.7% | 3,671 | -231 | $3,487 | $98,943,137 | $99 | 3 |
| 4 | N | The Night Before | Sony | $10,100,000 | – | 2,960 | – | $3,412 | $10,100,000 | $25 | 1 |
| 5 | N | The Secret in their Eyes (2015) | STX | $6,633,000 | – | 2,392 | – | $2,773 | $6,633,000 | – | 1 |
| 6 | 3 | Love the Coopers | CBS | $3,925,000 | -52.8% | 2,603 | – | $1,508 | $14,919,225 | – | 2 |
| 7 | 4 | The Martian | Fox | $3,700,000 | -44.9% | 2,086 | -702 | $1,774 | $213,039,442 | $108 | 8 |
| 8 | 12 | Spotlight | ORF | $3,603,466 | +166.2% | 598 | +537 | $6,026 | $5,879,577 | – | 3 |
| 9 | 5 | The 33 | WB | $2,240,000 | -61.3% | 2,452 | – | $914 | $9,900,692 | – | 2 |
| 10 | 7 | Bridge of Spies | BV | $1,945,000 | -54.4% | 1,532 | -1,156 | $1,270 | $65,177,412 | $40 | 6 |
What did you catch over the weekend? Was it any good? Let us know on the comment boards, , and !
Source: Box Office Mojo