Betting against Disney is usually a bad idea, but not this time: Into the Woods opened this weekend and came in third at the box office behind The Hobbit and Unbroken.
But just because Into the Woods didn’t top the box office doesn’t mean it bombed. The film grossed $15.1 million Christmas day, meaning it had the fourth largest Christmas day opening gross in history behind 2009’s Sherlock Holmes, 2012’s Les Miserables, and this year’s Unbroken.
Although Unbroken beat Into the Woods on both their opening days and opening weekends, the two were neck and neck: Into the Woods made $15.1 million Christmas day, Unbroken made $15.9 million. Into the Woods made $31 million over the weekend, Unbroken made $31.7 million. As it turns out, audiences were equally intrigued by the star-studded musical and the Oscar-ready drama.
But neither of these new releases could outshine The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, now in its second weekend. The final film in the Hobbit trilogy made $41.4 million, enough to earn it the number one spot at the box office once again. This was only a 24 percent drop from the previous weekend, when it opened with $54.7 million and proved that the Peter Jackson series is going out on a strong note.
The rest of the top five was also made of films in their second weeks: Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb came in at number four with $20.6 million and Annie at number five with $16.6 million. These two lighthearted PG-rated flicks were undoubtedly helped by the family-filled crowds heading to the theaters on and around Christmas who didn’t find any of the other new releases—Unbroken, Into the Woods, or The Gambler—appropriate enough for younger viewers.
And speaking of The Gambler, perhaps Christmas weekend wasn’t the best time to open the Mark Wahlberg-fronted film, which came in at number seven with $9.3 million. While it’s smart to put darker dramas in theaters during this time of year to (among other reasons) give older viewers something to see during the holidays, it’s competing with dramas surrounded by much a lot more buzz, like Unbroken.
As for the rest of the weekend’s top ten, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 1 was number six in its sixth week with $10 million—and, in other milestones, has made $306.7 million domestically to date. The Imitation Game ($7.9 million), Exodus: Gods and Kings ($6.8 million), and Wild ($5.4 million) rounded out the box office ten.
1. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies – $41.4 million
2. Unbroken – $31.7 million
3. Into the Woods — $31 million
4. Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb — $20.6 million
5. Annie – $16.6 million
But the movie that’s been talked about more than any of the top ten is The Interview. The controversial Seth Rogen film played in 331 independent theaters (as well as on websites like YouTube and Google Play) and grossed $2.8 million over the four days beginning with Christmas and $1.8 million over the weekend.
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