By Erich Schwartzel 

Should auld acquaintance be forgot? For the film industry, yes.

Moviegoing revenue in the U.S. and Canada ended 2014 down 5.3%, according to box-office tracker Rentrak Corp.--the worst results since 2011. Ticket sales for 2014 are also down, but final data on the year isn't out yet.

Studios and exhibitors now looking to the new year for some hope got good news this weekend, with grosses up 5.5% over the same weekend last year.

The continued success of "The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies" and strong second weeks for Christmas releases "Into the Woods" and "Unbroken" helped lead the gain.

"The Hobbit" held the top spot in its third week with estimated box-office sales of $21.9 million in the U.S. and Canada. The final adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy, distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. and the New Line division of Time Warner Inc.'s Warner Bros., has collected $220.8 million so far.

"Into the Woods," the Walt Disney Co. adaptation of the Stephen Sondheim musical, fell 39% to $19 million for a cumulative $91.2 million.

"Unbroken," the Angelina Jolie-directed story of World War II bomber Louis Zamperini from Comcast Corp.'s Universal Pictures, grossed $18.4 million in third place for a total of $87.8 million so far.

The weekend's only new wide release, "The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death," opened to a decent $15.1 million in fourth place. That's behind the 2012 debut of the original "Woman in Black," which opened to $20.9 million and went on to gross $54.3 million. The second installment, which doesn't feature the original's star Daniel Radcliffe, takes place 40 years after the original film, and follows a group of London orphans and caretakers who move into a haunted house.

The PG-13-rated sequel was acquired for distribution by Relativity Media LLC for $1 million. The studio targeted the early January release--a popular one for horror films--to appeal to younger audiences still on break from school, said Kyle Davies, president of world-wide distribution. About 65% of the opening-weekend audience was under the age of 25.

In other box-office news, "The Interview," the controversial comedy starring Seth Rogen that was initially pulled from theaters for its Dec. 25 opening only to be reinstated days before, expanded its limited release to 581 locations.

The movie, about a pair of television journalists asked to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, drew the ire of hackers thought by U.S. officials to have ties to the Communist country. Its studio, Sony Corp.'s Sony Pictures Entertainment, pulled the movie after threats of violence were made against theaters expected to show the movie; it was eventually released simultaneously to independent operators and a collection of online services.

That distribution ubiquity, which increased during the past week as several video-on-demand providers came on board to show the film, ate into its theatrical business. The movie grossed $1.1 million this weekend, compared with $2.8 million in 331 theaters last week. Sony didn't release updated figures on the movie's online grosses, which were more than $15 million in the first week.

Access Investor Kit for Sony Corp.

Visit http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=JP3435000009

Access Investor Kit for Comcast Corp.

Visit http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=US20030N1019

Access Investor Kit for Comcast Corp.

Visit http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=US20030N2009

Access Investor Kit for The Walt Disney Co.

Visit http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=US2546871060

Access Investor Kit for Rentrak Corp.

Visit http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=US7601741025

Access Investor Kit for Sony Corp.

Visit http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=US8356993076

Access Investor Kit for Time Warner, Inc.

Visit http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=US8873173038

Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSK)
Historical Stock Chart
From Feb 2024 to Mar 2024 Click Here for more Comcast Charts.
Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSK)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2023 to Mar 2024 Click Here for more Comcast Charts.