With "The Force Awakens" looming, "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2" notched its fourth-straight weekend atop the box office, while Ron Howard's whaling tale "In the Heart of the Sea" capsized.
It was a quiet weekend at movie theaters. Few studios wanted to push out a new release days before "The Force Awakens." That left the final chapter of the "Hunger Games" saga to remain no. 1 with $11.3 million according to studio estimates Sunday.
"In the Heart of the Sea," starring Chris Hemsworth, was the only major new release to test the pre-"Star Wars" waters. But its hopes sank with an estimated $11 million despite a production budget around $100 million.
In limited release, Adam McKay's finance farce "The Big Short" opened strongly with $720,000 in eight theaters.
