newsmakers

newsmakers

‘Mockingjay, Part 1’ opens with $123M

NEW YORK

“Mockingjay, Part 1” didn’t catch fire like the previous installments of “The Hunger Games,” but it still had the biggest opening of the year with $123 million at the weekend box office, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Lionsgate’s “Mockingjay” opened well below the $158 million debut of last year’s “Hunger Games: Catching Fire” and the $153 million opening of the 2012 original. But even with a $30-million-plus slide in the franchise, “Mockingjay” far surpassed the previous top weekend of the year: the $100 million debut of “Transformers: Age of Extinction.”

The result made for some unusual ironies. The biggest opening of the year (and by a wide margin) was seen by some as a disappointment. After initial box-office receipts of “Mockingjay” that rolled in Friday suggested a weekend take below expectations, Lions Gate Entertainment’s stock dipped 5 percent.

But the decision to split the final book in Suzanne Collins’ dystopian trilogy into two films clearly was lucrative for Lionsgate. “Mockingjay” did even better overseas, where it made $152 million over the weekend, accounting altogether for a $275 million global opening.

The release calendar made way for “Mockingjay,” as no other new wide releases hit theaters. In its third week of release, the Disney animated adventure “Big Hero 6” moved into second place with $20.1 million. Christopher Nolan’s space epic “Interstellar” came in third with $15.1 million, also in its third week.

Iggy Azalea wins 1st award at AMAs

los angeles

Breakthrough newcomer Iggy Azalea won her first award ever at the American Music Awards, taking down rap heavyweights Eminem and Drake.

Azalea won favorite rap/hip-hop album for her debut, “The New Classic.”

Azalea was the lead nominee with six, including artist of the year. She performed her massive hit, “Fancy,” which is nominated for single of the year, as well as her new song, “Beg for It.”

One Direction won the night’s first award for favorite band, duo or group — pop/rock, beating out Imagine Dragons and OneRepublic. They also won favorite album and artist of the year.

Associated Press