LOS ANGELES — Moviegoers wanted another helping of “The Hunger Games.”
“The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part One” ruled the box office for a second weekend in a row with $56.9 million, according to studio estimates Sunday. The total haul for the latest installment of the Lionsgate dystopian series starring Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen stands at $225.7 million domestically and $254.4 million internationally.
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“Penguins of Madagascar” opened in second place with a chilly $25.8 million. The animated spin-off centers on the penguin characters from DreamWorks Animation’s “Madagascar” franchise. “Penguins” fared better overseas, where the film earned an additional $36 million.
Disney’s animated romp “Big Hero 6” and Paramount’s space-time saga “Interstellar” held onto the third and fourth positions, respectively, with $18.7 million and $15.8 million in their fourth weekend at the box office. The domestic total for “Big Hero 6” has ballooned to $167.2 million, while filmmaker Christopher Nolan’s “Interstellar” is orbiting at $147 million.
The Warner Bros. comedy sequel “Horrible Bosses 2” with Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis and Charlie Day reprising their roles from the original 2011 movie debuted in fifth place with $15.7 million.
Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for box office tracker Rentrak, noted the overall box office was down 21 percent from last year when “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” and “Frozen” dominated the box office. “There was no way the box office could live up to the strength of the marketplace a year ago at Thanksgiving,” Dergarabedian said.
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