With no new wide releases in theaters this weekend, Jennifer Lawrence and “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part I” once again had no trouble claiming the top spot at the box office on Friday.
It earned $6.5 million, bringing its domestic to $242.6 million. By Monday, “Mockingjay” will be the second-highest grossing film of the year, moving past “Captain America: The Winter Soldier's” $259.7 million gross. The only film ahead of it will be Marvel's “Guardians of the Galaxy,” which topped out at a starry $331.9 million, and will have no trouble keeping the box office crown through the end of the year.
However, it's not all good news for Katniss Everdeen. “Mockingjay” is still performing much lower than was expected, and will have a very difficult time matching the $424.6 million grossed by last year's “Catching Fire.”
Meanwhile, “Horrible Bosses 2” scored $2.7 million for second place on Friday. Its domestic total stands at a decent $30.2 million. The first film earned $117.5 million.
“Bosses” features returning stars Charlie Day, Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis, Jennifer Aniston and Jamie Foxx, plus newcomers Chris Pine and Christoph Waltz.
Sliding into No. 3 with $2.3 million was DreamWorks Animation's “Penguins of Madagascar,” bringing its total to $40.8 million.
Christopher Nolan's “Interstellar,” starring Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway and Jessica Chastain, 2.1 million. Its to-date domestic gross of $152.7 million is comparatively small for Nolan, who has directed such blockbusters as “Inception” ($292.5 million), and the billion-dolalr “Dark Knight” trilogy.
Rounding out the top five, Disney's “Big Hero 6” took in $1.8 million, raising its domestic total to $171.2 million.
On the smaller side, Jean-Marc Vallee's “Wild,” starring Reese Witherspoon, earned $165,000 Friday from just 21 theaters. The film is an Oscar contender and is opening wider over the next few weeks.
Look for complete weekend estimates Sunday on HitFix.