Christopher Nolan's newest film, Interstellar, has a lot of star power, and not just because of it revolving around human space travel (so many space jokes). With a cast as stacked as Interstellar — I'm talking, Matthew McConaughey, John Lithgow, Anne Hathaway, Wes Bentley, Jessica Chastain, and a surprise cameo by another huge Hollywood actor — it is no surprise that the Nolan flick was going to blast out of this world (another space joke). But one unexpected plot twist in the success of Interstellar's first weekend at the box office was that it would be knocked down to number two by an animated film. That's right — living up to its name — Disney's Big Hero 6 beat Interstellar at the box office.
Big Hero 6 , the PG-rated Disney animation follows two unlikely friends who team together with a group of friends to create a team of heroes. Spinning off the hero theme in the film, the movie is actually a collaboration between Disney and Marvel, and if there is anything we know about both of those companies it is that Disney knows animation, and Marvel knows heroes, so it seems to be the perfect pairing. Big Hero 6 — like Interstellar — opened Nov. 7, and earned $57.5 million as of Sunday, Nov. 9. Similarly, but not quite as successful, Interstellar has earned $54 million in its first weekend out. Whether Big Hero 6 can hold it's spot as number one will only be known with time, but I think with the crazy success of past Disney movies — ahem, Frozen —, we should never underestimate the power of an animated movie in the box office.
Beyond the top two box office spots, Gone Girl has still held on to the top three movies, earning an additional $6 million this weekend, bringing its total grossing to over $154 million since it opened in October. Rounding out the top five grossing movies this weekend, Universal's Halloween scary movie Ouija, in the number four spot, and in the fifth spot, St. Vincent, starring Bill Murray, Naomi Watts, and Melissa McCarthy.
Outside of the top grossing films from the weekend, but still a movie that should be on your radar, Jake Gyllenhaal's Nightcrawler has been received with stellar reviews from critics, with 94% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes. And if that doesn't convince you, it has Gyllenhaal, so no more needs to be said, right?
Images: Disney Animation Studios
