Skip in Skip x Embed x Share CLOSE Katniss and her district engage in a revolution against the Capitol in 'The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 2.' VPC 
 
 Jennifer Lawrence (center) and 'The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 2' won the box office again. (Photo: Lionsgate) 
 
 The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 2 floated to the top of the box office for the fourth weekend in a row after the weekend's major opening, In the Heart of the Sea, was severely roughed up. 
 
 Director Ron Howard's whale ship survival story, starring Chris Hemsworth, scored only $11 million in its first three days, according to studio estimates. It's terrible news for the big budget drama with an estimated $100 million filming budget. 
 
 "In the Heart of the Sea is a beached whale," says Jeff Bock, lead analyst for Exhibitor Relations, of the reteaming of 2013's Rush filmmakers. "You can see studios being interested in this story. But the reviews just weren't there and there was no buzz whatsoever for this film." 
 
 Sea sank with critics, receiving a 43% positive approval rating on review aggregate site RottenTomatoes.com and a B-plus from audiences at CinemaScore. 
 
 (Photo: Jonathan Prime) 
 
 The low Sea numbers led to another easy victory for the buoyant Mockingjay, which earned $11.3 million in its fourth weekend for a total of $244.5 million. 
 
 The rest of the top weekend scorers were holdovers from past weeks including Pixar's The Good Dinosaur, which brought in $10.5 million for third place in its third weekend (and a total of $89.7 million). The Rocky reboot Creed fought for an additional $10.1 million in its third weekend for fourth place ($79.3 million total). 
 
 Christmas horror film Krampus rounded out the top five with $8 million in its second weekend with a total of $28.2 million. 
 
 Director Adam McKay's look at the 2008 housing crash, The Big Short, was a big winner in its limited opening weekend. The Big Short scored $720,000 in just eight theaters for a tremendous average of $90,000 per theater. The opening was propelled to even greater heights after the film landed four Golden Globe nominations (including best comedy) last week and two Screen Actors Guild nominations, including best ensemble cast for Brad Pitt, Ryan Gosling, Christian Bale (also up for supporting actor) and Steve Carell. 
 
 Skip in Skip x Embed x Share CLOSE Brad Pitt, Christian Bale, Ryan Gosling and Steve Carell star in the movie adaption of Michael Lewis' book 'The Big Short.' 
 
 "This is at the top of everyone's must-see list with that dream cast. They are filling theaters in a major way," says Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Rentrak. "This film's success is based on critical acclaim, awards buzz and audience reaction, all of which have been stellar thus far." 
 
 The Big Short scored an 86% approval rating on RottenTomatoes.com and an A from audiences at CinemaScore. 
 
 But in the slow weekend, the looming tidal wave is the mega-release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Friday). 
 
 "We're bracing. Right now, it's nothing but Star Wars," says Dergarabedian. "And that's even impacting this weekend. The true big question is, how big will Star Wars be? This is a huge watershed moment." 
 
 Final numbers are expected Monday. 
 
 (Photo: Jaap Buitendijk) 
 
 Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/1YcXHF0 ||||| Warner Bros/Everett Collection 
 
 Ending a painful year at the box office with one last disappointment, Warner Bros.’ “In the Heart of the Sea” quickly sank upon its release this weekend. 
 
 Despite the pedigree of director Ron Howard, star Chris Hemsworth and a story related to one of America’s greatest novels, “Moby Dick,” “In the Heart of the Sea” was unable to find as big an audience as the Time Warner studio had been seeking. The movie opened to a weak $11 million in the U.S. and Canada, according to studio estimates. 
 
 Read More: Ron Howard’s Goal for “In the Heart of the Sea” 
 
 It was No. 2 on the box office chart behind “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 2,” which grossed $11.3 million on its fourth weekend in theaters. 
 
 Warner Bros. and partner Village Roadshow Pictures spent nearly $100 million to make the movie — a budget that typically necessitates a bigger opening in order to end up a hit. 
 
 68% of those who came opening weekend were over 35, according to exit polls. That’s an audience that doesn’t typically rush out to see a movie opening weekend. Getting their attention in the next few weeks will be challenging, however, as presumed blockbuster “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” debuts Thursday night and six films open or expand nation-wide on Christmas Day. 
 
 “We knew this December would be crowded, so we opened earlier because we felt an adult audience will hear about this movie from word-of-mouth,” said Warner executive vice president of distribution Jeff Goldstein. “It’s all about getting to Christmas.” 
 
 Reviews for the movie were mixed, but opening night audiences gave it a B+, according to market research firm CinemaScore. 
 
 Warner’s movie business has had a tough 2015, ranking No. 3 at the box office despite releasing more movies than competitors and suffering a number of high profile flops including “Pan,” “Jupiter Ascending,” and “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.” The studio has had to rely on stronger performances by its television and videogame businesses to bolster its bottom line. 
 
 “In the Heart of the Sea,” is the last movie financed by Warner Bros. that it will release this year. 
 
 Many at Warner are already looking ahead to March’s “Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice” as the movie that they hope will turn things around. 
 
 With “In the Heart of the Sea” failing to draw much attention, several movies already in the market saw only modest declines in ticket sales including “Mockingjay,” “The Good Dinosaur,” and the “Rocky” follow-up “Creed,” one of Warner’s few hits this year. 
 
 The Wall Street comedy-drama “The Big Short,” riding strong reviews and Golden Globe nominations, grossed $720,000 at eight theaters. Its average take of $90,000 is the second highest for any movie this year, behind only “Steve Jobs.” The movie from Viacom Inc.’s Paramount Pictures starts playing nation-wide on Christmas. ||||| Originally published November 20, 2014 at 12:06 AM | Page modified November 20, 2014 at 11:31 AM 
 
 ‘The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 1,’ with Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Julianne Moore, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jeffrey Wright, Donald Sutherland. Directed by Francis Lawrence, from a screenplay by Peter Craig and Danny Strong, based on the novel by Suzanne Collins. 123 minutes. Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, some disturbing images and thematic material. Several theaters. 
 
 Setting the table the day before Thanksgiving is helpful, and lets you organize the meal in your head and sort out all the elements in preparation for action — but it’s still, by late Wednesday night, an empty table. That’s what “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 1” suffers from; it’s a table-setter of a movie in which not much happens. The filmmakers’ decision to make two films from the final book in Suzanne Collins’ teen-dystopia trilogy may have made sense from a business point of view, but dramatically it’s a problem. You leave this well-acted, impeccably designed movie as you entered it: still waiting. 
 
 Director Francis Lawrence (who also helmed “Catching Fire,” the second movie in the franchise) starts things abruptly; if you haven’t seen the previous two films (or read the books, which the movies follow closely), your head may well spin. The vicious Games, in which heroine Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) fought for her life, have been obliterated; now, a rescued Katniss must band with the rebels of District 13 to stand against President Snow (Donald Sutherland, not much in this movie). And she must sort out her complicated feelings toward Gale (Liam Hemsworth), now a fellow soldier in the rebellion, and Peeta (Josh Hutcherson), now a toy in the hands of Snow. 
 
 Grim gray jumpsuits are worn (most amusingly by Elizabeth Banks’ Effie Trinket, imported into this movie for a whisper of much-needed wit), brows are furrowed, strategy is planned and speeches are made. Every performance, from Lawrence on down (there’s even some fine work by a very chill cat), is thoughtful and skilled — and yet, there’s a sense that everyone’s meticulously hitting the same note over and over: guarded ferocity from Lawrence, flat-voiced stoicism from Julianne Moore as rebel leader President Coin, earnest heroism from Hemsworth, quiet derangement from Hutcherson, sardonic honesty from Woody Harrelson’s Haymitch. Sadly, the most emotional moment in the film is a few words in the end credits: “In loving memory of Philip Seymour Hoffman.” The late actor, filmed long ago as rebellion leader Plutarch Heavensbee, gives sly line readings that now seem poignant; you wish this role weren’t his last. 
 
 Other than a startlingly lovely blanket of white roses late in the film (they cover everything, like the poppies in “The Wizard of Oz”), “Mockingjay — Part 1” doesn’t give us much to look at: District 13 is bombed-out and crumbling, and the biggest spectacles are surely saved for the final film. It’s a placeholder of a movie, and a perfectly competent one, but it’s a reminder that we have to wait awhile for the real meal. 
 
 Moira Macdonald: 206-464-2725 or mmacdonald@seattletimes.com 
 
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– More people opted to watch the final installment of The Hunger Games, prominently featuring Liam Hemsworth in its fourth week of release, than did those who showed up to witness the drubbing Chris Hemsworth took in the debut of what was supposed to be a star turn in Ron Howard's In the Heart of the Sea. Mockingjay: Part 2 took in $11.3 million this weekend, reports USA Today, good enough for its fourth consecutive crown, while In the Heart of the Sea managed $11 million. The movie "is a beached whale," says one analyst. "You can see studios being interested in this story. But the reviews just weren't there and there was no buzz whatsoever for this film." It's been a tough year for Warner Bros., notes the Wall Street Journal: In the Heart of the Sea marks just the latest in a series of flops that included Pan, Jupiter Ascending, and The Man From UNCLE. Warner Bros. has released more movies than its competitors, yet ranks No. 3 at the box office in 2015. For those looking for something in theaters to get excited about, the new Star Wars movie opens Thursday.