'Interview,' 'Unbroken' impress at holiday box office
The Interview ended a crazy week with gusto, but it's Angelina Jolie who conquered the Christmas Day box office.
The director's wartime drama Unbroken opened strong with $15.6 million Thursday, good enough for the third-best Christmas Day opening of all-time, according to studio estimates from Box Office Mojo. It ranks behind only Sherlock Holmes' $24.6 million in 2009 and Les Misérables' $18.1 million in 2012.
The Interview, the Seth Rogen/James Franco comedy at the heart of the controversy involving Sony hackers, racked up $1 million on Thursday in 330 independent movie theaters around the country. The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema chain, one of the staunchest supporters of screening the film, sold out all of its Christmas screenings in its 17 locations. After threats of terrorism, the movie was pulled from its Christmas release by major theater chains such as AMC and Regal.
The Interview has become more of a "touchstone event" than an ordinary film, says Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Rentrak. "I'm sure a lot of people someday will be telling their grandkids, 'Oh, I went to the first Christmas Day screening of The Interview.
"Much bigger than the movie itself is the situation surrounding it and the emotions that it's creating in movie-goers and fans."
But for the amount of press that The Interview has garnered this week, its $1 million opening is "slightly underwhelming," says Jeff Bock, senior box-office analyst for Exhibitor Relations. "But when you consider that a lot of these theaters were really small, that's a solid number."
The Interview has done well on video-on-demand platforms since its Wednesday release online. While none of the sites has disclosed download or streaming numbers, Variety reports The Interview is the best-selling film on Google Play and YouTube Movies. And according to CNN, there were also 750,000 illegal downloads of the film on Thursday.
"The audience reaction was fantastic — the limited release, in under 10% of the amount of theaters originally planned, featured numerous sell-outs and a first-day gross over $1 million," said Rory Bruer, president of worldwide distribution for Sony Pictures Entertainment, in a statement.
"Considering the incredibly challenging circumstances, we are extremely grateful to the people all over the country who came out to experience The Interview on the first day of its unconventional release."
Unbroken rallied past mixed reviews and ultimately did well due to a long press campaign from Jolie, great visuals and the inspirational real-life story of Olympian and war hero Louie Zamperini (Jack O'Connell) around Christmas, says Bock.
People are just interested in history these days, adds Dergarabedian. "The greatest generation is at the top of everyone's list this year as far as topics that have become of great interest to movie-goers."
The Disney movie musical Into the Woods was right behind Unbroken with a $15 million opening Thursday — ranking fourth all-time for a Christmas Day opening. Bock feels it will probably win the upcoming weekend and its broad appeal could have life into January. "The longevity factor is definitely something to consider for that."
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies garnered $13.1 million, more than double its Christmas Eve take, while Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb's $7.4 million and newcomer The Gambler's $5 million rounded out the top five.
There's always room for adult fare on Christmas, too, and Gambler took advantage of The Interview not being in the bigger theaters, Bock says. "There's usually one hard-R-rated film out there and it usually does pretty decently because of lack of competition. Plus, Mark Wahlberg is a pretty big star and people like the films he puts out."
Benedict Cumberbatch's WWII thriller The Imitation Game made $3 million on its first day of nationwide release, Tim Burton's Big Eyes opened with $1.4 million, and American Sniper, released in four theaters, had an impressive $60,000-per-screen average.
Contributing: Alison Maxwell