Last ‘Hunger Games’ opens to franchise low of $101 million

“The Secret In Their Eyes” wasn’t able to muscle through, with the remake of an acclaimed Argentinian thriller of the same name earning a disappointing $6.6 million for a fifth place finish.

“The Night Before”, $10.1 million.

“Mockingjay – Part 1” opened on this weekend a year ago to $121.9 million, considered at the time to be a necessary and expected dip, while fans awaited the final installment, which, if it mimicked “Twilight” or “Harry Potter”, would have snared the second highest (if not highest) opening in the series.

With that perspective, a franchise low for the final “Hunger Games” film, which cost a reported $160 million to make, was a bit of a surprise. It cost $19.5 million to produce, and is the latest in a string of adult driven films such as “By the Sea” and “Steve Jobs”, to struggle at the box office this fall.

“We’re in the home stretch”, Dergarabedian said.

STX, which bought domestic rights with Route One for $6.5 million, expressed confidence that the film would find its audience over the Thanksgiving period.

The weakness of the new films allowed holdovers “Spectre” and “The Peanuts Movie” to pad their box office results.

In its third week, Sony Pictures’ SNE, +0.11% “Spectre” dropped to No. 2 at the box office, earning $14.6 million, which puts its domestic total at $153.7 million.

Rounding out the top tier are Love the Coopers at No. 6 with $3.9 million, The Martian at No. 7 with $3.7 million, Spotlight at No. 8 with $3.6 million, The 33 at No. 9 with $2.2 million and Bridge of Spies at No. 10 with $1.9 million.

At the specialty box office, the Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara-starring Carol had a standout debut, opening to $248,149 in only four theaters for a strong start of $62,037 per location.

“Reviews and word of mouth will drive this film”, said Erik Lomis, distribution chief at the Weinstein Company.

“Part 2” scored a healthy $101 million over the weekend, but that number was the lowest of any opening in the “Hunger Games” series, plus it was about $20 million under the projected total of $120 million.

And while “Mockingjay – Part 2” may not have hit the high targets of the previous films in the franchise, it was still a bullseye with moviegoers who gave the film an “A-” CinemaScore.

Expectations run high when films become so popular and successful in such a short a time, said Paul Dergarabedian, a senior media analyst for Rentrak. “There’s too many movies, too many distractions, and so much going on in the world right now”.