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 "Frozen" sold $31.6 million worth of tickets from Friday through
Sunday during its second weekend in theaters to top domestic movie
charts, while "Catching Fire" earned $27 million, according to
studio estimates from Rentrak.
The weekend's only new nationwide release, crime thriller "Out of
the Furnace," took a distant third place with $5.3 million.
Global sales for "Frozen," a solid holiday season hit, climbed to
$190 million through Sunday, Disney said. The 3D movie, inspired by
"The Snow Queen" fairytale, features the voice of Kristen Bell as a
Scandinavian princess intent on finding her sister, the Queen, who
has the power to freeze anything with a touch and accidentally sets
off a long winter that is destroying their kingdom.
"Catching Fire," the second of the "Hunger Games" films based on
novels by Suzanne Collins, brought its global total to a massive
$673.4 million, according to distributor Lions Gate Entertainment
Corp. The movie stars Jennifer Lawrence as heroine Katniss Everdeen,
a skilled archer who provides hope for an oppressed society on the
edge of rebellion.
Lions Gate noted that the U.S. weather in recent days, with several
winter storm systems in play, likely had an impact on box office
results.
Third-place film "Out of the Furnace" stars Christian Bale and Casey
Affleck as brothers in a working-class Pennsylvania steel town. When
one of the brothers disappears, the other sets out to find him and
enact revenge.
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"Out of the Furnace" was distributed by privately held Relativity
Media and cost $22 million to make. Critics were split on the film.
As of Saturday, the movie scored a 51 percent positive rating among
reviews collected on the Rotten Tomatoes website.
In a statement, Relativity called the "a daring story from a
renowned director and an award-winning cast," adding "While we had
hoped it would perform better this weekend, we are all proud of this
movie."
Rounding out the charts, Marvel superhero sequel "Thor: The Dark
World," which stars Chris Hemsworth as the god of thunder, earned
$4.7 million. "Delivery Man," featuring Vince Vaughn as a sperm
donor who fathers more than 500 children, finished fifth, grossing
$3.8 million. Disney distributed "Thor" and "Delivery Man."
Next weekend, theaters are expected to be busy with fans turning out
for "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug," the second of three
movies based on the fantasy novel by J.R.R. Tolkien. Last year's
blockbuster "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" earned $1 billion at
theaters worldwide.
(Reporting by Lisa Richwine and Chris Michaud)
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