There may have been several new movies at the box office for Christmas Day, but Peter Jackson’s final Hobbit movie continued to dominate. Still, the story of the weekend has to be the incredible success had by both Unbroken and Into The Woods.
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, Jackson’s final Middle-Earth movie, grossed $41.4 million from Friday to Sunday. That brings its domestic total to $168.5 million. Worldwide, the film is up to $573.6 million. So, if Jackson wants to talk the J.R.R. Tolkien estate into letting him make another Middle-Earth movie, Warner Bros. would probably back him up.
Universal’s Unbroken, which was directed by Angelina Jolie and stars Jack O’Connell as World War II hero Louis Zamperini, took in $31.7 million over the three-day weekend and has made $47.3 million since Thursday. The film got off to a great start on Thursday, and that clearly continued into the weekend. The film’s success could also be thanks to an aggressive marketing campaign that made sure everyone knew that Jolie directed.
Disney’s Into The Woods musical scored $31 million and finished with $46.1 million with Christmas Day gross included, according to Rentrak data.
Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb added $20.6 million over the weekend, bringing its total to $55.3 million. Sony’s Annie took in $16.6 million, so its domestic total is up to $45.8 million.
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire - Part I continued to draw in audiences, taking in $10 million. Its domestic total is up to a whopping $306 million.
In addition to the wide releases, there were several awards bait films in limited release. Clint Eastwood’s American Sniper, which stars Bradley Cooper, broke the record for best limited opening in under 10 theaters on Christmas. According to Deadline, the film had a $212,500 per-theater average over the 4-day weekend. The film goes wide on Jan. 16.
Selma had a $48,000 per-theater average. That movie goes wide on Jan. 9.
image of ‘Into the Woods’ star Meryl Streep courtesy of Kristin Callahan/ACE/INFphoto.com