Unbroken, Into the Woods top Christmas Day box office; The Interview brings in more than $1 million

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      Two films topped $15 million in ticket sales on Christmas Day, according to the boxofficemojo website.

      It reported that the Angelina Jolie-directed Unbroken is in first place by earning approximately $15.6 million on its opening day.

      The film tells the tale of Louis Zamerini (Jack O'Connell), an Olympic runner who faced gruelling experiences at sea and in a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp.

      Into the Woods, the Stephen Sondheim musical adapted by Disney, is in second place at $15.1 million. It stars Meryl Streep and Anna Kendrick, with a cameo by Johnny Depp.

      Into the Woods is only playing on 2,440 screens compared to 3,131 for Unbroken, so the Disney picture is doing better on a per-theatre basis.

      In third place is The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, which generated an estimated $13.1 million on 3,875 screens. The latest Hobbit film earned $54.7 million over the previous three-day weekend and $89.1 million if you include the previous Wednesday and Thursday.

      Next on the Christmas Day box-office list is Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb at $7.4 million on 3,914 screens. It features Robin Williams in his final role, alongside Owen Wilson, Ben Stiller, and Ben Kingsley. 

      In fifth place is The Gambler, starring Mark Wahlberg, with an estimated $5 million at the box office on Christmas Day on 2,478 screens.

      The next five most popular at the box office, in order, were Annie, The Imitation Game, Exodus: Gods and Kings, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay—Part 1, and Wild

      The Interview, codirected by Vancouver's Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, posted $1 million at the box office on Christmas Day even though it only appeared in 331 theatres.

      Rogen also costars in the comedy with James Franco about a TV crew sent to assassinate North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un.

      The Interview has also been released on digital platforms, including Google Play, YouTube, and Microsoft's XBox Video.

      The Bollywood film P.K., starring Aamir Khan, did even better on a per-screen basis, bringing in $1.1 million while being shown in only 272 theatres.

      Like The Interview, P.K. has also been mired in controversy as Hindu fundamentalists in India have launched a boycott over the film's secular message.

      Comments

      1 Comments

      Hazlit

      Dec 27, 2014 at 8:19am

      Into the Woods is horrible. In the end it is a tale about how a fat loser gets to have two wives and a bunch of children just because he wishes it--through magic. The story line is incoherent and the characters generally flat and undeveloped. And Depp as the Wolf is sort of creepy which takes much of what should be a fun movie and makes it rather distasteful.

      This movie--like so many these days out of Hollywood--is at one pretentious and vapid. For Hollywood insiders it offers references to stories and earlier movies, letting Hollywood types feel smart; for mass audiences it offers established stars (along with a stable of newcomers designed to appeal to various demographics) none of whom have any depth or say or do anything interesting.

      For the intelligent and thoughtful moviegoer there is nothing here.

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