The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies demolished the competition at the box office with a $56 million weekend that brings the Wednesday-opening feature to a $91 million five-day domestic opening total.
The final chapter in Peter Jackson’s prequel trilogy to The Lord of the Rings has been a huge hit overseas, too. It’s earned $265 million in foreign ticket sales for a $355 million worldwide total.
Second place fell the visual-effects-laden family comedy Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb. The third film in the series earned $17 million over the weekend. Its $10 million foreign take gives it a $27 million worldwide total.
Coming in fourth is Ridley Scott’s Exodus: Gods and Kings with a second-weekend domestic total of $8 million in ticket sales. The movie has grossed $39 million domestic and $61 million abroad for a $100 million total.
Fifth place went to The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 1, which sold $7.7 million in tickets domestically this weekend. That brings the third installment in the four-part movie series to $289 million domestic and $350 million foreign for a $639 million worldwide gross.
Disney’s animated adventure feature Big Hero 6 landed in eighth place with a $3.6 million domestic weekend. The Marvel adaptation has grossed $190 million domestic and $81 million foreign for a $272 million worldwide gross.
Right behind was DreamWorks Animation’s Penguins of Madagascar with a $3.5 million domestic gross for the weekend. The film has earned $64 million in domestic ticket sales and $134 million abroad for a $199 million worldwide gross.
In 11th place is Christopher Nolan’s sci-fi feature Interstellar with a $2.6 million domestic gross for the weekend. The feature has earned $171 million domestic and $464 million foreign for a $635 million worldwide gross.
And opening on a single screen — the IFC Center in New York — Cartoon Saloon’s newest feature Song of the Sea earned $18,000 in its opening weekend — a solid performance for so limited a release.
