“Big Hero 6” has triumphed over “Interstellar” at the box office.
The animated Disney superhero adventure took in an estimated $56.2 million over the Veterans Day weekend, making it the second best opening for an animated film this year after “The LEGO Movie,” which grossed a whopping $69.1 million back in February. Based on the Marvel superhero team of the same name, the film finished with a very good $14,943 average from 3,761 locations, and with a solid “A” Cinemascore it should play well through the holiday season.
Coming in second was the Christopher Nolan sci-fi “Interstellar,” which grossed an estimated $50 million over the Friday-to-Sunday period for a per-location average of $14,041. Starring Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain and Michael Caine, the film grossed an additional $2.2 million in early IMAX shows that began Tuesday night.
Though “Interstellar” doesn't represent an opening weekend record for Nolan outside the Batman franchise – that distinction goes to 2010's “Inception,” which took in $62.7 million in its debut frame – the number is nevertheless an impressive one, particularly considering that, unlike “Inception,” it had to contend with the opening of another hugely-anticipated blockbuster over the same weekend.
As a point of comparison, Alfonso Cuaron's “Gravity” – a similarly-marketed star-driven film set in space – debuted to $55.7 million last October, though that number was inflated by 3D and IMAX surcharges (spurred on by the studio's marketing campaign, roughly 80 percent of moviegoers bought tickets at the higher price point for the film).
In third place was David Fincher's leggy thriller “Gone Girl,” which brought in an additional $6.1 million in its sixth weekend (a drop of only 28%) for a terrific $145.4 million total so far. Also holding up reasonably well was two-time box office champ “Ouija,” which took in an estimated $6 million in fourth place for a total of $43.5 million in three weeks. The Platinum Dunes/Blumhouse production has no doubt benefited from being the only wide-release horror film currently in theaters.
Bill Murray's indie dramedy “St. Vincent,” meanwhile, continued to perform well in its wide expansion, dropping only 21% in fifth place with an estimated $5.7 million (five-week total of $27.3 million). Produced on a budget of $13 million and bolstered by Oscar buzz surrounding Murray's lead performance, the film is looking like a tidy hit and potential awards-season player for the Weinstein Company.
Further down the chart in sixth place is Dan Gilroy's critically-acclaimed thriller “Nightcrawler” starring Jake Gyllenhaal, which fell about 47% in its second weekend for a total of $21.5 million in wide release.
In limited release, Stephen Hawking biopic “The Theory of Everything” featuring a much-ballyhooed performance by prospective Best Actor nominee Eddie Redmayne debuted to a solid $207,000 on only five screens for a superb average of $41,400.
Check out the full Top 10 chart below.
Weekend Top 10:
1. “Big Hero 6,” $56.2 million.
3. “Interstellar,” $50 million.
3. “Gone Girl,” $6.1 million.
4. “Ouija,” $6 million.
5. “St. Vincent,” $5.7 million.
6. “Nightcrawler,” $5.5 million.
7. “Fury,” $5.5 million.
8. “John Wick,” $4 million.
9. “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day,” $3.5 million.
10. “The Book of Life,” $2.8 million.