Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen in Mockingjay - Part 1 dominates box office

 Moviegoers wanted another helping of The Hunger Games.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part One ruled the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday box office for a second weekend in a row with $56.9 million, according to studio estimates Sunday. The total haul for the latest instalment of the Lionsgate dystopian series starring Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen stands at $225.7 million domestically and $254.4 million internationally.

• FILM REVIEW | The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1
• Jennifer Lawrence becomes an international pop star
• QUIZ | How well do you know the The Hunger Games?

Penguins of Madagascar opened in second place with a chilly $25.8 million. The animated spin-off centres on the penguin characters from DreamWorks Animation's Madagascar franchise. Penguins fared better overseas, where the film earned an additional $36 million.

Disney's animated romp Big Hero 6 and Paramount's space-time saga Interstellar respectively held onto the third and fourth positions with $18.7 million and $15.8 million in their fourth weekend at the box office. The domestic total for Big Hero 6 has ballooned to $167.2 million, while filmmaker Christopher Nolan's Interstellar is orbiting $147 million.

New Releases disappoint

The Warner Bros. comedy sequel Horrible Bosses 2 with Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis and Charlie Day reprising their roles from the original 2011 movie debuted in fifth place with $15.7 million.

Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for box office tracker Rentrak, noted the overall box office was down 21 per cent from last year when The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and Frozen dominated the box office.

"It was a situation where there was no way the box office could live up to the strength of the marketplace a year ago at Thanksgiving," said Dergarabedian. "We had two unusually strong films at the top last year that completely knocked it out of the park."

By the numbers

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theatres, according to Rentrak. Where available, the latest international numbers are also included.

1. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 1, $56.9 million ($67 million International).

2. Penguins of Madagascar, $25.8 million ($36 million international).

3. Big Hero 6, $18.7 million ($4.8 million international).

4. Interstellar, $15.8 million ($44.4 million international).

5. Horrible Bosses 2, $15.7 million ($11.7 million international).

6. Dumb and Dumber To, $8.2 million ($4.5 million international).

7. The Theory of Everything, $5 million.

8. Gone Girl, $2.4 million ($10.5 million international).

9. Birdman, $1.8 million.

10. St. Vincent, $1.7 million.

———

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at international theatres (excluding the U.S. and Canada), according to Rentrak:

1. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 1, $67 million.

2. Interstellar, $44.4 million.

3. Penguins of Madagascar, $36 million.

4. Horrible Bosses 2, $11.7 million.

5. Women Who Flirt, $11.5 million.

6. Paddington, $8.5 million.

7. The Best, The Lost, $8 million.

8. Fury, $7.9 million.

9. Rise of the Legend, $5.5 million.

10. Asterix: The Mansions of the Gods, $5 million.