Hollywood’s movie studios have nothing to crow about, as a modest sales total was reported for the industry this Thanksgiving weekend.
The three-day total for the industry was estimated at $163 million, well below the record $208 million set last year.
“The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1” was on track to sell $56.9 million in tickets between Friday and today, and was on track for a $225.7 million total over its two weeks of exhibition, according to estimates from Lionsgate.
That was not a barn-burner, but its five-day sales total starting last Wednesday — $82.7 million — was the best five-day Thanksgiving total ever, noted industry analyst Paul Dergarabian at Rentrak.
“Penguins Of Madagascar” premiered with $25.8 million in three-day sales for 20th Century Fox, or $36 million if Thursday was included.
But family audiences were also still trooping in to see Disney’s “Big Hero 6,” now in its fourth week of screening. It was estimated to deal $18.8 million in sales over three days, and $167.2 million over its four week run.
Also in its fourth week, “Interstellar” was having a $15.8 million weekend, with $147 million in the cash registers.
“Horrible Bosses 2,” an R-rated premiere, was estimated to sell $15.7 million over three days, and $23 million if Thanksgiving Day was added.
Rounding out the 10 most-popular movies in the U.S. and Canada, as estimated by the producers and collated by Rentrak, were “Dumb And Dumber To” ($8.2 million), “The Theory Of Everything” ($5 million), “Gone Girl” ($2.5 million), “Birdman” ($1.9 million) and “St. Vincent” ($1.8 million).