Very few movies came out this past weekend, and those that did are sitting in the shadow of the big-name hits from two weeks ago.

“The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” claimed the No. 1 spot for the second week in a row. Despite dipping in revenue by about 53 percent, the second of the “Hunger Games” trilogy still raked in more than $70 million during the weekend, and has grossed almost $300 million to date.

Skyrocketing from 22nd place to second was Disney’s “Frozen.” The drastic improvement isn’t surprising, considering it played in only one theater during its limited release weekend. Showing in more than 3,000 theaters in its wide release, though, “Frozen” grossed more than $67.3 million — a 27,588.6 percent increase.

Disney strategically teased the film several weeks before its release, first showing a scene between two characters that revealed little of the plot. The trailers grew longer and contained more of the storyline leading up to opening weekend. And the animated film has since received a perfect “A+” on CinemaScore and an impressive 86 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.

Filling in the top five and leading the new releases was “Homefront,” starring Jason Statham, James Franco and Winona Ryder. The film grossed $6.9 million during its opening weekend — less than a third of its $22 million budget — and received a low 35 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Mostly criticized for being a textbook thriller and adding nothing new to the genre, the film struggled from its release date, despite its fairly popular cast members. And lacking a strong ad campaign, little was known about the plot that pitted a former U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent (Statham) against a local meth drug lord (Franco). Yet it still managed to attain an average “B” on CinemaScore.

The only other new release to breach the top 10 was “Black Nativity,” a Christmas-themed film starring Forest Whitaker and Jennifer Hudson. Well timed with the holiday season, the film managed to draw a relatively significant audience, and should continue to do so, especially considering its strong word of mouth.

Beating out “Homefront” with 53 percent and an “A-” from Rotten Tomatoes and CinemaScore, respectively, “Black Nativity” has a real chance to surpass its fellow new releases in the upcoming weeks approaching Christmas. The film’s content is going to remain relevant during the holidays, while “Homefront” will most likely be pushed further back by the holiday releases just around the corner, like “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” and “The Wolf of Wall Street.”

Published on December 4, 2013 at 12:50 am

Contact Joe: jtinfant@syr.edu | @joeinfantino