NEW YORK – In its second weekend at the box office, the Disney animated tale "Frozen" finally cooled off "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire," while the week's lone new wide-release "Out of the Furnace" wasn't a match for either blockbuster.
According to studio estimates Sunday, "Frozen" led the multiplexes with a haul of $31.6 million over the weekend, taking over the top spot from "Catching Fire." Lionsgate's "Hunger Games" sequel had topped the box office for the last two weeks, but slid to second with $27 million in its third week of release.
Relativity Media's steel-town drama "Out of the Furnace," starring Christian Bale and Casey Affleck, posed no challenge for the bigger blockbuster holdovers. It opened with $5.3 million, good enough for third place on what's typically a quiet early December weekend, sandwiched between Thanksgiving and the coming holiday season releases.
Opening in a limited release of four theaters, the Coen brothers' folk tale "Inside Llewyn Davis" also had one of the year's highest per-theater averages of $100,500 for CBS Films.
In its second week of limited release, the Weinstein Co.'s biopic "Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom," starring Idris Elba, continued to play in four theaters, earning an average of $19,400 per theater. "Mandela" opens wide on Christmas.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday, according to Rentrak:
1. "Frozen," $31.6 million.
2. "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire," $27 million.
3. "Out of the Furnace," $5.3 million.
4. "Thor: The Dark World," $4.7 million.
5. "Delivery Man," $3.8 million.
6. "Homefront," $3.4 million.
7. "The Book Thief," $2.7 million.
8. "The Best Man Holiday," $2.7 million.
9. "Philomena," $2.3 million.
10."Dallas Buyers Club," $1.5 million.
Associated Press