Overall sales were incredible. Several films, both new releases and holdovers, had brilliant individual runs. There was enough money coming into American movie theaters to turn a worryingly slow year into a solidly average one, and despite all of this, 2014’s Christmas box office will be remembered for the impact of its 16th place film.
The Interview, Sony’s immensely controversial buddy comedy about James Franco and Seth Rogen working with the CIA to assassinate North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, made just $2.8 million from a limited 331 theater release in the U.S. This, however, was a small piece of the pie as digital sales through services like Google Play, iTunes, and Xbox Live reportedly generated an unprecedented $15 million in VOD revenue. Its combined traditional and digital release would put it 11th overall on the international chart.
First place in North America again went to The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies. Its second weekend run produced $41.4 million, while in the four-day period beginning on Christmas day it made $54.5 million. Its domestic cumulative to date stands at $168.5 million, leaving it slightly ahead of the $160.5 million that last year’s The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug had earned by the end of its second frame. Good fortune continued overseas as Peter Jackson’s final foray into Middle-Earth earned $89.2 million from 62 overseas territories. Highlights came from Germany, where the picture finished first and added $11.6 million in its third weekend, where it opened in the top spot with a $10.1 million debut. It closed its third frame in France at number two with $6.8 million, while its third UK session saw a $6.6 million finish in the top spot.
To date, the film has revenues of $405.1 million internationally and has a domestic and international cumulative of $573.6 million. With some luck, and given next weekend’s slate virtually devoid of new releases, Five Armies may yet march into the land of billions before it ends its campaign.
Unbroken, Angelina Jolie’s sophomore directorial venture about Olympic distance runner and war hero Louis Zamperini, finished second in its domestic debut with a four day total of $47.3 million. It was helped along by a strong endorsement from several prominent Christian leaders. Exit polls showed that 25% of viewers decided to see the film because of Jolie’s involvement as director.
Meanwhile Into the Woods, an adaptation of Steven Sondheim’s 1987 fairytale genre dissection, finished just below it in third with $46.1 million. This star-studded musical featuring among others Meryl Streep, Anna Kendrick, Chris Pine, Emily Blunt, and Johnny Depp had a decent $1.9 million opening in Korea. Its staggered international release will stretch all the way into April.
While it made a very faint impression at home, Exodus: Gods and Kings is still doing well abroad where it closed the frame in second place on the international chart with $31.1 million. Ridley Scott’s biblical epic opened first in Brazil with $6.68 million, and earned $5.35 million in France where it finished third. It made $6.7 million in the U.S. and Canada, where it has a $53.7 million cumulative, while its international total is nearly twice that at $97 million.
Chinese picture The Taking of Tiger Mountain was fourth on the international chart after its $25 million home market debut. Based on the novel Tracks in the Snowy Forest novel by celebrated author Qu Bo, it tells the true story of a group of soldiers tasked with hunting out bandits deep in the mountains during the Chinese Civil War.
On the specialty market American Sniper, the Clint Eastwood directed biopic on the life of the deadliest sharpshooter in American history, made a limited debut in 10 theaters, earning $2.1 million for an astonishing $212,500 per-theatre average. This awards-hopeful will move into wider release beginning next week.
Martin Luther King Jr. biography Selma opened in 19 theatres and earned $912,000 for a $48,000 per-theatre average. Paramount attributed the low return to its decision to open beyond the four biggest LA and New York art-house theaters that often account for picture’s strong limited releases.
Next weekend we’ll see the North American releases of A Most Violent Year and The Woman in Black 2.
Lorenzo Soria