Given the mixed to fairly positive reception of that film, it probably should’ve been expected Part Two wouldn’t have performed as huge, series finale or not.
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But despite the less-than-stellar box office this weekend, the gamble has still paid off financially. Ticket sales were down roughly 10% for the weekend, down from the year-ago period that fielded Mockingjay – Part 1’s United States dollars 121.9 million opening. Some analysts said that franchise fatigue was a significant factor, others wondered if the attacks on Paris had some effect.
“Part 2” debuted to top the North American box office this weekend with an 101 million USA dollars.
The studio is still far from disappointed and said sales internationally were strong. The Night Before seems to have generally positive reviews and word of mouth, plus it’s the holidays and this time of the year movies tend to hold much better.
LOS ANGELES_Looks like Katniss Everdeen is facing an even bigger threat than President Snow: viewer ennui for “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay_Part 2”.
Along with Jennifer Lawrence, the star cast boasts of impressive names like Liam Hemsworth, Julianne Moore, Elizabeth Banks, Natalie Dormer, Stef Dawson, Jeffrey Wright and Evan Ross.
Dergarabedian attributes the showing to a down marketplace.
Lawrence says a prequel series would focus on the world of Panem before the creation of the barbaric Hunger Games.
“When a franchise is this popular and this successful in this short a time, expectations run very high”.
Nevertheless, the estimated number is enough to make the movie the fifth 2015 theatrical release to open above the coveted 100 million mark after “Jurassic World”, “Furious 7”, “Minions” and “Avengers: Age of Ultron”.
Two new movies rounded out the top five with The Night Before and the Secret in their Eyes making $10.1 million and $6.6 million respectively.
The trend is even more surprising considering that 2012’s The Hunger Games, the film that kicked it all off, was the previously the record holder for the most money made purely on pre-sale alone up until Star Wars: The Force Awakens beat it with its $50m takings just this week. Its $14.6 million weekend brought the film’s domestic 21-day total up to $153.7 million, which is nowhere near where ‘Skyfall’ was at this point.
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Sony distribution chief Rory Bruer noted that there won’t be another mainstream comedy in the marketplace until Tina Fey and Amy Poehler’s Sisters debuts on Dec 16. “In the coming years, both films will probably merit a “…oh, I remember that movie.
