The weekend following a major holiday is always a little slow. The boost from vacationing moviegoers is gone, so everyone tends to take a major dip. Some films end up okay. Some die on the vine. This weekend saw two films weather the storm perfectly fine and one new release collapse on the starting line.

FilmWeekendPer Screen
1Frozen$31,641,000 (-53.0)$8,456$143,278,000
2The Hunger Games: Catching Fire$27,000,000 (-63.6)$6,486$336,665,000
3Out of the Furnace$5,300,000$2,523$5,327,000
4Thor: The Dark World$4,740,000 (-57.2)$1,542$193,640,000
5Delivery Man$3,775,000 (-44.8)
$1,299$24,799,000
6Homefront$3,384,000 (-51.1)$1,317$15,284,000
7The Book Thief$2,700,000 (-44.5)$2,052$12,075,000
8The Best Man Holiday$2,673,000 (-67.3)$1,695$67,239,000
9Philomena$2,282,000 (-37.9)$2,733$8,255,000
10Dallas Buyers Club$1,459,000 (-42.0)$1,988$12,411,000

 

In first place, 'Frozen' took a big drop, but it still managed to climb from second place into first. With $31 million for the weekend, word of mouth is obviously doing wonders for the Disney musical, which has grossed $143 million so far. It should be able to reach $200 million by the end of the holiday season, but if buzz remains strong, the sky is the limit.

Speaking of the sky being the limit, 'The Hunger Games: Catching Fire' may have dropped to second place, but that's not a bad thing. With a $27 million third weekend, the already-beloved film has grossed $336 million so far, making it one of the biggest grossing films of the year and putting it on track to derail 'Iron Man 3' as the year's biggest success. Maybe. Possibly. It's very likely.

While those two films continued to flourish, 'Out of the Furnace' died upon arrival. The grim Christian Bale drama was never marketed particularly well and it seemed like an odd fit for the season anyway. Between the mixed reviews and $5 million opening, it looks like the film's Oscar chances have just plummeted to zero.

In fourth place, 'Thor: The Dark World' kept on trucking, grossing $4 million for a $193 million total. $200 million is just around the corner now and it should get there in the weeks ahead unless something goes wrong. In any case, the film is a much bigger hit than the first 'Thor,' so everything is okay.

And now we get to the uneventful portion of the top 10. 'Delivery Man' continued to flounder in fifth place, grossing $3 million for a $24 million total. It may end up breaking even, but this needed to be a hit for Vince Vaughn and it most certainly is not. In sixth place, 'Homefront' also struggled, taking in a dismal $3 million for a $15 million total.

Things get a little more interesting in spot number seven, where 'The Book Thief' continued to perform well in limited release, grossing $2 million for a $12 million total. Just as impressive is 'Philomena' in spot number nine, which made $2 million for an $8 million total. In slot ten, 'Dallas Buyers Club' rounded out this limited release trilogy, with $1 million over the weekend and $12 million total.

Still, all limited release films have to bow toward 'Inside Llewyn Davis.' Despite only opening in four theaters, the latest from the Coen brothers grossed $400,100. We doubt that'll translate to huge box office when it expands, but it does suggest that people are chomping at the bit to see this movie.

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