CinemaNerdz

Box Office Weekend: Catching Fire Still Blazing; Can’t Be Cooled by Frozen

Seth Paul
Box Office Weekend

Much like its predecessor The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is not just trying to break box office records, but going on to be one of the big winners of 2013 as well. With an estimated $74.5 million for the weekend, it now sits in third place for highest domestic grosser of 2013…well shy of Despicable Me 2, but two or three more weeks of good performance might even topple that giant. Not to be outdone, Disney put out its latest, Frozen, into wide release (opening last week to one theater), and while its estimated $66.7 million is not near Catching Fire for debut weekends, it is a solid start for a well reviewed film, especially considering the lack of entertainment for the younger crowd as of late. Thor: The Dark World had to settle for third for week four, its estimated $11.1 million making the film a surprising uphill battle in domestic earnings for Marvel Studios (though it has made a fine showing in total worldwide gross), finally showing a profit against its $170 million bankroll.

The Best Man Holiday continues its hit parade with an estimated $8.5 million, the comedy making back nearly quadruple its production costs. It fared better than newcomer action film Homefront (estimated $7 million) and second week dud The Delivery Man (estimated $6.9 million), as both struggle to make ends meet (and failed to make critics happy).

While “Oscar Season” approaches, one film has started early, though critics are not biting. The Book Thief, like Frozen, opened to wide release for week two, earning an estimated $4.9 million, but the World War II drama has not reported its costs. Black Nativity, on the other hand, is not working with critics, and it cannot hide behind unreported numbers; with an estimated $3.9 million opening weekend, it fell well short of its $17.5 million costs, and unlikely to make that back. And proving third time is the charm, Philomena is the third film to open to wide release in its second week, and while its numbers are also hiding, its critical acclaim should help it as it picks up an estimated $3.8 million. Finally, Last Vegas will likely leave the list by next week as a modest success, its estimated $2.8 million giving it a solid (if not all that impressive) $58.7 million over $28 million in costs.

Weekend Box Office (November 29th – December 1st)
  1. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire…$74.5 million
  2. Frozen…$66.7 million
  3. Thor: The Dark World…$11.1 million
  4. The Best Man Holiday…$8.5 million
  5. Homefront…$7 million
  6. Delivery Man…$6.9 million
  7. The Book Thief…$4.9 million
  8. Black Nativity…$3.9 million
  9. Philomena…$3.8 million
  10. Last Vegas…$2.8 million

Seth Paul

When not failing to write novels and screenplays, box-office guru Seth writes humorous comedy tracks for films under the name "The One Man Band" that can be found at Rifftrax.com. Although, he has recently succeeded in writing the novella "Jack Alan and the Case of the Not-Exactly Rocket Scientists," available as an eBook on Amazon. He is also the English voice of Zak in "Zak McKracken: Between Time and Space."
Exit mobile version