--- description: Penguins of Madagascar and Horrible Bosses 2 proved no match for the powerful Jennifer Lawrence vehicle title: 'Mockingjay' Dominates Thanksgiving Weekend Box Office image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3118ef9269f1928d/6987696a35ba6f2303c0564e/hunger-games-mockingjay2.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [movies](/tag/movies/) ## movies Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # _Mockingjay_ Beats Out New Releases at Holiday Weekend Box Office by [Entertainment Weekly / Ariana Bacle](/author/entertainment-weekly/) ## Entertainment Weekly / Ariana Bacle Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 30, 2014 6:18 PM CUT  Murray Close—Lionsgate by [Entertainment Weekly / Ariana Bacle](/author/entertainment-weekly/) ## Entertainment Weekly / Ariana Bacle Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 30, 2014 6:18 PM CUT _The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 1,_ now in its second weekend, had two wide releases to compete against this weekend, _Penguins of Madagascar_ and _Horrible Bosses 2\._ But it wasn’t much of a competition at all: _Mockingjay_ grossed $56.9 million, while _Penguins_ brought in less than half that with $25.8 million and _Horrible Bosses 2_ with $15.7 million. _Mockingjay’_s box office success is expected. The film, the third in the _Hunger Games_ series, is part of a wildly popular franchise that younger and older crowds are both interested in thanks to its dark, gritty world and A-list stars ranging from Jennifer Lawrence to the late Philip Seymour Hoffman. _Penguins,_ on the other hand, is also part of a franchise — but one not quite as beloved, apparently. ### See Hunger Games: Mockingjay Stars' Most Memorable Past Roles  Jennifer Lawrence is a household name now thanks to roles like Katniss Everdeen in the Hunger Games movies, but back in 2010 she was still a relative unknown when she made her breakout performance as Ree Dolly in Winter’s Bone. Lionsgate; Roadside Attractions  Before he brought to life Peeta Mellark from the Hunger Games novels, he played Jesse Aarons from Bridge to Terabithia in the 2007 fantasy film by the same name. Lionsgate; Buena Vista  Liam Hemsworth, aka the real life brother of Thor, plays Katniss’ love interest Gale Hawthorne in the Hunger Games movies and also played a runaway teen named Victor in the 2009 British thriller Triangle. Lionsgate; Icon Film  Woody Harrelson spends his time in the Hunger Games mentoring Katniss as former District 12 victor Haymitch Abernathy, but back in the day he spent his time schooling others in basketball as Billy Hoyle in the 1992 comedy White Men Can’t Jump. Lionsgate; 20th Century Fox  Before she was dressing up victors in the Hunger Games movies as Effie Trinket, Elizabeth Banks was dressed up in scrubs as Dr. Kim Briggs in the long-running television show Scrubs. Lionsgate; NBC  Donald Sutherland may rule Panem with an iron fist, but he showed a much gentler side as Mr. Bennet in the 2005 romance Pride & Prejudice. Lionsgate; Focus Features  Julianne Moore takes on a stark tone as the reserved and stoic President Alma Coin of District 13 in Mockingjay, but in 1998 she played the uninhibited avant-garde artist Maude in The Big Lebowski. Lionsgate; Gramercy Pictures  The late Philip Seymour Hoffman brings his considerable talent to the Hunger Games as the Head Gamemaker turned rebel Plutarch Heavensbee, but years prior, he portrayed the author Truman Capote in the 2005 biopic Capote, a role for which he would win an Oscar for Best Actor. Lionsgate; Sony Pictures Classics  Sam Claflin plays Finnick Odair, the charismatic victor from District 4, and was also William, Snow White’s childhood friend, in the 2012 fantasy film Snow White and the Huntsman. Lionsgate; Universal  Before he was interviewing the Hunger Games victors about the minutiae of their lives as Caesar Flickerman, Stanley Tucci chased the latest in fashion trends as Nigel, the snarky art director of Runway magazine, in the 2006 comedy The Devil Wears Prada. Lionsgate; 20th Century Fox  Jeffrey Wright portrays the genius inventor Beetee in the Hunger Games and also played CIA operative Felix Leiter in the James Bond movies Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace. Lionsgate; MGM  Long before he was shooting propaganda films in Mockingjay as Pollux, Elden Henson was shooting pucks back in the 90s as Fulton Reed in the Mighty Ducks trilogy. Lionsgate; Buena Vista  Although Mahershala Ali has to fight the Capitol’s considerable forces as Commander Boggs in Mockingjay, human soldiers should prove much easier after having to face off against aliens in the 2010 sci-fi flick Predators. Lionsgate; 20th Century Fox  Natalie Dormer joins the cast of the Hunger Games as Cressida, a talented propaganda director, in Mockingjay, however, most people will better know her as Margaery Tyrell from Game of Thrones. Lionsgate; HBO _Big Hero 6_‘s mere existence most likely contributed to _Penguins’_ numbers — many audiences are more drawn to the Disney film than the Dreamworks-made _Penguins._ _Horrible Bosses 2_, though, doesn’t have a similar excuse: Its predecessor, [_Horrible Bosses_](http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20483133%5F20483529,00.html "undefined")_,_ opened with $28 million in July 2011 and the sequel was expected to bring in similar numbers, especially because there aren’t many comedies currently in theaters. While the sequel’s $15.7 million opening isn’t terribly weak, it definitely underperformed compared to the first film — and barely made it into the top five. _Big Hero 6_ and _Interstellar,_ both movies surrounded by a lot of hype, continue to bring in solid numbers, while [_Gone Girl_](http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20483133%5F20843746,00.html "undefined") finally found itself outside the top five this weekend (the thriller grossed $2.5 million) for the first time since its Oct. 3 release. **1\.** [**_The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 1_**](http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20483133%5F20874139,00.html "undefined")**– $56.9 million** **2\.** [**_Penguins of Madagascar_**](http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20483133%5F20876861,00.html "undefined") **– $25.8 million (5-day total: $36 million)** **3\.** [**_Big Hero 6_**](http://insidemovies.ew.com/2014/11/11/big-hero-6-interstellar-box-office/ "undefined")**– $18.8 million** **4\.** [**_Interstellar_**](http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20483133%5F20847346,00.html "undefined")**– $15.8 million** **5\.** [**_Horrible Bosses 2_**](http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20483133%5F20877240,00.html "undefined")**_–_** **$15.7 million (5-day total: $23 million)** [_Dumb and Dumber To_](http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20483133%5F20872253,00.html "undefined") brought in $8.3 million, down 40 percent from last week’s $13.8 million. [_The Theory of Everything_](http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20483133%5F20869525,00.html "undefined")expanded to 802 theaters this weekend and brought in $5.1 million and [_Foxcatcher_](http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20483133%5F20869540,00.html "undefined")_,_ now in 72 theaters, made $1 million. [_The Imitation Game_](http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20483133%5F20877266,00.html "undefined")opened in just four theaters and made $482,071. In other box office news, _Interstellar_ continues its successful IMAX run: The Christopher Nolan film has now made $91 million globally from its IMAX screenings — and is now one of the highest grossing IMAX films of all time. _Mockingjay_ has made $254.4 million internationally, meaning its on track to beat out _Catching_ _Fire’s_ $440 million foreign box office total. [_This article originally appeared at EW.com_](http://insidemovies.ew.com/2014/11/30/box-office-report-mockingjay-penguins/ "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3610906/hunger-games-mockingjay-part-1-box-office-thanksgiving/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3610906/hunger-games-mockingjay-part-1-box-office-thanksgiving/"},"headline":"Mockingjay Beats Out New Releases at Holiday Weekend Box Office","datePublished":"2014-11-30T18:18:53.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:06:52.505Z","description":"Penguins of Madagascar and Horrible Bosses 2 proved no match for the powerful Jennifer Lawrence vehicle","url":"https://time.com/3610906/hunger-games-mockingjay-part-1-box-office-thanksgiving/","keywords":["movies"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3118ef9269f1928d/6987696a35ba6f2303c0564e/hunger-games-mockingjay2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Entertainment Weekly / Ariana Bacle"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3118ef9269f1928d/6987696a35ba6f2303c0564e/hunger-games-mockingjay2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Hunger Games Mockingjay","caption":"Hunger Games Mockingjay","creditText":"Murray Close—Lionsgate","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/movies/","name":"movies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3610906/hunger-games-mockingjay-part-1-box-office-thanksgiving/","name":"Mockingjay Beats Out New Releases at Holiday Weekend Box Office"}}]}] ```