‘Unbroken’ tops Christmas Day box office, ‘The Interview’ earns over $1 million

December 26, 2014
A banner for "The Interview"is posted outside Arclight Cinemas, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2014, in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles. A U.S. official says North Korea perpetrated the unprecedented act of cyberwarfare against Sony Pictures that exposed tens of thousands of sensitive documents and escalated to threats of terrorist attacks that ultimately drove the studio to cancel all release plans for the film at the heart of the attack, "The Interview." (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

“Annie,” shown in 3,197 theaters, made $4.6 million, while “The Interview” earned $1.04 million over 331 theaters on Christmas Day.

LOS ANGELES (CNS) – The Angelina Jolie-directed biopic “Unbroken” topped the North American box office on Christmas Day, just ahead of the musical “Into the Woods,” according to final figures released today.

“Unbroken,” the biography of Torrance High School and USC track star and World War II hero Louis Zamperini, earned $15.59 million, according to Rentrak, while “Into the Woods,” another movie released Thursday, came in second with $15.08 million.

“The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies,” which dominated the box office last weekend, dropped to third, earning $13.14 million. Ben Stiller’s “Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb” was fourth with $7.35 million and “The Gambler,” starring Mark Wahlberg, placed fifth with $5 million.

Rounding out the top 10 films of Christmas Day were “Annie” ($4.6 million), “The Imitation Game” ($3.08 million), “Exodus: Gods and Kings” ($3.03 million), “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1” ($3.59 million), and “Wild” ($1.66 million).

The limited release of “The Interview” was 14th with $1.04 million. It was shown in 331 theaters, slightly more than one-tenth the 3,131 for “Unbroken.”