Animated features The Nut Job and Frozen performed well at an overall weak weekend at the box office, taking the third and fourth places in a frame where the only major release, Lionsgate’s I, Frankenstein, debuted in eighth place.
In its second weekend of release, The Nut Job took in about $12.3 million for a domestic total of about $40 million. The film has yet to open in foreign markets, though the indie feature has done well enough to get a sequel green lit for 2016.
Frozen, meanwhile, continued to show legs with a $9 million weekend good enough for fourth place in its 10th weekend of release. That brings its domestic total to nearly $348 million and its worldwide tally to more than $810 million. Expect the movie to get a boost again next weekend — where the Super Bowl tends to depress movie attendance — when Disney releases a sing-along version to theaters.
Both animated features came in behind Ride Along, again the No. 1 film this weekend with an estimated $21 million in ticket sales; and Lone Survivor, which just beat out The Nut Job with an estimated $12.8 million.
I, Frankenstein’s debut in eighth place with $8.2 million was the sole new major release this weekend.
Other VFX and animated features still in release include: The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, with $2.2 million to bring its domestic total to $252 million and its global total to $847 million; Gravity, with $2 million, for $261million domestic and $680 million worldwide; $1.5 million for The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, now at $420 million domestic and $855 million worldwide; and Sony’s Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2, taking in $280,000 for $119 million domestic and $257 million worldwide.
