Bloomberg News
"Frozen," 's animated movie about two princesses in an icy world, returned to the top spot in ticket sales in its seventh weekend in U.S. and Canadian theaters.
"Frozen" generated $20.7 million for the weekend, toppling "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug," which had held the lead for three weeks, researcher said in an e-mailed statement today. "Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones," the horror sequel from 's Paramount Pictures, had $18.2 million second place in its debut.
With this week's haul, "Frozen" has taken in $297.8 million in domestic theaters, second to only Universal Pictures' "Despicable Me 2" for an animated movie released in 2013. The film benefited from favorable reviews and a holiday release schedule light on family-friendly competition.
"People are getting from the movie exactly what they wanted," said Phil Contrino, chief analyst for researcher BoxOffice.com. "It's very impressive."
"Frozen," which last led the box office on the weekend ended Dec. 8, was made for $150 million, according to Box Office Mojo. It was projected to take in $20 million this past weekend, according to BoxOffice.com. It's only the seventh movie in 30 years to finish or jump back into the top position while in its seventh week of release, putting it in the company of such films as "Driving Miss Daisy" and "Silkwood."
Only Debut
The film is the biggest hit for Disney's namesake animation division since "The Lion King" in 1994, highlighting a resurgence at the studio, which is churning out hits again after the success of "Tangled" in 2010 and "Wreck-It Ralph" in 2012.
"Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones," the fifth installment in the low-cost horror series, was the only debut in wide release this weekend. Like its predecessors, the movie eschews gore and special effects for suspense.
The new film introduces new characters by shifting to a group of Latino teenagers in an apartment complex. When a reclusive woman in the complex dies, the teenagers discover a sinister plot.
The film garnered a 45 percent positive rating by RottenTomatoes.com, a review aggregator.
'Hobbit' Film
Low-cost horror has been an effective strategy for Paramount and for Hollywood. The first four films in the "Paranormal Activity" franchise cost about $13 million total and generated $720.7 million in worldwide ticket sales, according to Box Office Mojo.
The new movie was projected to take in $13 million for Paramount, according to BoxOffice.com.
Among returning films, "The Desolation of Smaug," the second of three films based on the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, made $16.3 million to take third place for Warner Bros. and MGM Holdings Inc. The film, released on Dec. 13, has generated $756.6 million worldwide. Its predecessor produced $1.02 billion in its theatrical run, with 70 percent from international markets.
"The Wolf of Wall Street," starring Leonardo DiCaprio, collected $13.4 million in its second weekend to place fourth. The movie, featuring DiCaprio as the central character, follows the real-life rise and fall of Jordan Belfort, who founded the 1990s firm Stratton Oakmont Inc. and spent 22 months in prison for securities fraud.
'American Hustle'
The movie has garnered Golden Globe nominations for best comedy and best actor in a comedy.
"American Hustle," a fictionalized account of a 1970s scandal, took in $13.2 million for Sony Corp. in its fourth weekend to place fifth. The movie, featuring Christian Bale, was nominated for seven Golden Globe Awards.
Weekend revenue for the top 10 films rose 30 percent to $123 million from the year-earlier period, Rentrak said.
The following table has U.S. movie box office figures provided by studios to Rentrak Corp. The amounts are based on gross ticket sales from Jan. 3 and Jan. 4 and estimates for today.
Rev. Pct. Avg./ Total Movie (mln) Chg. Theaters Theater (mln) Wks =============================================================== 1 FROZEN $20.7 -28 3,318 $6,245 $297.8 7 2 PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 18.2 -- 2,867 6,348 18.2 1 3 THE HOBBIT 16.3 -44 3,730 4,357 229.6 4 4 WOLF OF WALL STREET 13.4 -27 2,557 5,241 63.3 2 5 AMERICAN HUSTLE 13.2 -29 2,518 5,242 88.7 4 6 ANCHORMAN 2 11.1 -44 3,407 3,258 109.2 3 7 SAVING MR. BANKS 9.1 -33 2,110 4,292 59.3 4 8 SECRET LIFE OF MITTY 8.2 -36 2,922 2,806 45.7 2 9 HUNGER GAMES 7.4 -26 2,143 3,453 407.5 7 10 GRUDGE MATCH 5.4 -23 2,856 1,894 24.9 2 Top 10 Films Grosses: This Week Year Ago Pct. (mln) (mln) Chg. =================================== $122.9 $94.7 +30 Year-to-date Revenue: 2014 2013 YTD YTD Pct. (mln) (mln) Chg. =================================== $228.5 $217.6 +5 Source: Rentrak Corp.
To contact the reporter on this story: Ben Livesey in San Francisco at blivesey@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Anthony Palazzo at apalazzo@bloomberg.net
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