Weekend Report: 'Hobbit' Finale Three-Peats on First Weekend of 2015
by Ray Subers --- January 4, 2015
On the first weekend of the year, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies once again ruled the box office.
Meanwhile, The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death opened in fourth place with $15.1 million, which is noticeably lower than its predecessor's debut.
Overall, this was a good start to 2015: the top 12 earned an estimated $135.5 million, which is up six percent from the same frame last year.
The final installment in the Hobbit trilogy added $21.9 million, which is off 47 percent from last weekend. To date, it's earned $220.8 million, and should wrap up between $260 and $270 million.
Into the Woods held on to second place, easing 39 percent to $19.1 million. Through 11 days, the Disney musical has banked $91.2 million. Angelina Jolie's Unbroken wasn't far behind: the World War II drama added $18.4 million for a new total of $87.8 million.
Into the Woods and Unbroken remain on track to close with at least $120 million each.
Playing at 2,602 locations, The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death opened to an estimated $15.15 million this weekend. That's off 27 percent from the first Woman in Black's $20.9 million debut, and is also lower than last January's Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones ($18.3 million). A whopping 51 percent of that $15.15 million was earned on Friday, which makes this one of the most front-loaded weekends ever.
Taken on its own, this is a fine debut for a movie that didn't cost much to acquire ($1 million) or market (no official number is available, but it was almost certainly a comparatively cheap campaign). Still, the movie's long-term prospects aren't looking so good. In each of the last three years, a horror movie has opened on the first weekend of January, and each of those wound up earning at least 50 percent of their total on opening weekend.
With a "C" CinemaScore and an audience that skews younger (65 percent under the age of 25), a similar fate may await The Woman in Black 2. This would put the movie at less than $30 million total, which is an underwhelming result for a movie that opened at over 2,500 locations.
In fifth place, Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb dipped 29 percent to an estimated $14.45 million. To date, the final installment in the family-friendly franchise has taken in $89.7 million, and remains on pace to close north of $110 million. Meanwhile, Annie (2014) added $11.4 million (down 31 percent) for a 17-day total of $72.6 million.
Without a significant expansion, The Imitation Game was up two percent to an estimated $8.1 million this weekend. So far, the Alan Turing biopic has earned $30.8 million. At the exact same point in its run four years ago, The King's Speech added $7.8 million for a total of $22.9 million. With a handful of Oscar nominations coming up, The Imitation Game appears to have a realistic shot at $100 million.
The Gambler fell 31 percent to $6.3 million, which brings its eight-day total to $27.6 million. Big Eyes held nicely, easing 13 percent to $2.6 million for a $9.9 million total.
Selma added three locations—bringing its total to 22—and earned an estimated $645,000 this weekend. With over $2 million in the bank so far, the civil rights drama is set to expand nationwide on Friday.
Playing at the same four locations as last weekend, Clint Eastwood's American Sniper added an estimated $640,000 this weekend. That translates to $160,000 per theater, which is the biggest second weekend average ever for a live-action movie (the previous record was $96,549 for Moulin Rouge).
While its usually foolish to make assumptions about a movie's nationwide appeal based on its performance in four theaters, Sniper's remarkable run so far does suggest that long-term commercial prospects are quite good. When the movie expands wide on January 16th, it's a safe bet that it at least matches Zero Dark Thirty opening ($24.4 million), and it could even wind up near Lone Survivor ($37.8 million).
Opening at four theaters, A24's A Most Violent Year earned an estimated $188,000 this weekend. That translates to a $47,000 per-theater average, which is quite good for this type of release. Including its Wednesday and Thursday numbers, the movie has so far grossed $300,000; it will roll in to additional cities throughout the month, and is expected to go wide on January 30th.
Around-the-World Roundup: 'Hobbit' Marches To $500 Million Overseas
For the fourth weekend in a row, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies easily took first place at the overseas box office.
The final installment in Peter Jackson's Middle Earth prequel trilogy added $52.5 million from 65 markets, which brings its total to $502.1 million. It opened to $2.1 million in Argentina, which is the biggest debut ever for Warner Bros. The movie expands in to China on January 23rd, which should give it the bump it needs to get past $700 million overseas.
On a worldwide basis, The Hobbit has now earned $723 million, which ranks fifth among 2014 releases. By next weekend, it will move up to second place ahead of Guardians of the Galaxy.
Exodus: Gods and Kings earned $31.4 million this weekend, which includes a strong $8 million debut in Russia. It also held first place in Brazil with $4.5 million. To date, Ridley Scott's biblical epic has grossed $141.5 million, and still has six markets left (including Italy and Japan). It should ultimately get to $200 million, though it would be very surprising if it matched Noah's $261 million.
Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb unearthed another $25.7 million this weekend. It repeated in first place in Mexico ($4 million), and also had a solid debut in Brazil ($3.1 million). The franchise finale has earned $91.2 million so far, and still has five of the Top 10 markets left (including China, where it opens today).
Penguins of Madagascar added $23 million from 43 markets this weekend. It opened to an impressive $6 million in South Korea and a so-so $3.7 million in Australia.
Penguins has now earned $192.6 million, which compares favorably to recent DreamWorks Animation disappointments: it has already topped Mr. Peabody & Sherman, and will pass Turbo and Rise of the Guardians in the next week. Over the next two months, the movie will expand to another 14 markets.
Big Hero 6 continued its slow-and-steady international run this weekend, adding another $20.2 million. It was up 38 percent in Japan, where it's now earned $34.6 million total. To date, Big Hero 6 has grossed $167.4 million, and has yet to open in six major territories.
A month ahead of its U.S. debut, Seventh Son expanded to a handful of new markets and earned an estimated $18.6 million. It took first place in Russia with a very strong $8.9 million, while it underwhelmed in Spain with $1.3 million (fifth place). With an early total of $22 million, the long-delayed fantasy movie expands to nine more territories next weekend.
Taken 3 opened to $8.2 million in South Korea and $1.3 million in Hong Kong; in both markets, its debuts were significantly above Taken 2. That movie wound up earning $236 million outside of the U.S., and there's a realistic possibility that the franchise finale tops that number. Coinciding with its domestic debut, Taken 3 expands to 27 new markets next weekend.
On the surface, American Sniper seemed like the type of movie that wouldn't have much of a chance at the international box office: Lone Survivor and Zero Dark Thirty, for example, each fell short of $40 million overseas. However, its opening in Italy this weekend suggests a different story.
Since opening on Wednesday, the movie has earned a whopping $6.3 million, which is the biggest debut ever for a Clint Eastwood movie. American Sniper reaches the U.K. on January 16th—the same day as its U.S. expansion—and then opens in Australia a week later.
