New family entry Penguins of Madagascar and R-rated comedy Horrible Bosses 2 are both doing less business than expected at the Thanksgiving box office.
Penguins, a spinoff of DreamWorks Animation’s popular Madagascar franchise, grossed $4 million on Thursday (Thanksgiving) for a two-day cumulative total of $10.2 million. At this pace, the animated film may only post a five-day debut of $35 million, compared to the expected $40 million to $45 million.
Directed by Eric Darnell and Simon J. Smith, Penguins is voiced by John Malkovich, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom McGrath, Christopher Knights, Chris Miller, Conrad Vernon, Peter Stormare, Ken Jeong and Annet Mahendru. The spinoff earned an A- CinemaScore.
From New Line and Warner Bros., Horrible Bosses 2 is also coming in behind expectations, although it cost a modest $40 million to make. The movie, one of the few R-rated comedies to ever debut over the holiday, grossed $3.1 million on Thursday for a two-day cume of $7.3 million and projected a five-day debut in the $25 million range. It had been expected to earn north of $35 million.
The first Horrible Bosses opened to $28.2 million on its way to earning a stellar $209.6 million worldwide.
Directed this time out by Sean Anders, Horrible Bosses 2 re-teams most of the original cast, includingJason Bateman, Charlie Day and Jason Sudeikis, whose characters set out to start their own business, only to be swindled. Jennifer Aniston, Jamie Foxx, Chris Pine, Christoph Waltz andKevin Spacey also star.
As expected, Liongate’s The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 continues to dominate the holiday box office overall, earning another $11.1 million Thursday for a domestic total of $168.6 million. Overseas, the threequel has zoomed past the $200 million mark for a worldwide total of $370 million. In North America, Mockingjay should earn $75 million to $80 million for the five days.
And Penguins, holding at No. 2 behind Mockingjay domestically, is facing stiff competition from Disney’s animated holdover Big Hero 6.
Big Hero 6 all but tied with Horrible Bosses 2 and Interstellar on Thursday, and is likely to beat Horrible Bosses 2 and come in No. 3 over the long holiday.
Christopher Nolan‘s Interstellar is another strong holdover, and could take in $20 million to $21 million for the five days.
Holiday revenue is sure to be down over last year, but the dip should be in the single digits.
