It was expected to be a tough fight for #1 this weekend, as would be blockbusters Interstellar and Big Hero 6 both vied for the top spot, but in the end, Disney's superhero kiddie ride easily landed in first, with $56 million over the weekend. Interstellar came in second with $50 million, despite beating out the animated film on Friday. It did have some challenges, being a long, three hour film that can't play at as many showtimes, and family audiences tend to pack the matinee times on Saturday and Sundays, but both films got pretty good Cinemascores (A- and B+ respectively), so they should stick around for a while.
In third was Gone Girl, pulling in another $6 million and showing some pretty remarkable staying power. Its accumulated haul is now $145 million, making it a huge success for David Fincher, and even though its a genre the Academy tends to stay away from, I think the box office and good reviews do make it a dark horse for some Oscar consideration, especially in Director. Ouija continues to hang around, coming in fourth with another $6 million, and St. Vincent broke into the top five this weekend, earning $5.7 million, making it quite a big success for an indie film this year.
Top 5:
- Big Hero 6- $56.2 million
- Interstellar- $50 million
- Gone Girl- $6.1 million
- Ouija- $6 million
- St. Vincent- $5.7 million
In limited release, the big story was The Theory of Everything, which debuted to the fourth best independent opening of the year, with $207k from just five screens, and a $41k average. That's only behind The Grand Budapest Hotel, Boyhood and Birdman, so that's a promising start for the Stephen Hawking biopic's awards hopes. Next week it's the premiere of Dumb and Dumber To and the limited debut of Foxcatcher, as Oscar season is really kicking off. See you then!
