‘Hunger Games’ Leads Box Office Again as ‘Penguins’ and ‘Bosses’ Disappoint 

Liam Hemsworth and Jennifer Lawrence in “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1″

Katniss Everdeen fended off fresh competition from unruly co-workers and a pack of penguins to maintain the top spot at the box office over an underperforming Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

“The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1” collected an estimated $82.7 million over the five days, bringing its two-week total to $225.7 million.

That easily outperformed two new wide releases appealing to two very different audiences. “The Penguins of Madagascar,” an animated spinoff of the “Madagascar” franchise from DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc., grossed a disappointing $36 million in second place. “Horrible Bosses 2,” a sequel to the 2011 workplace comedy starring Jennifer Aniston, took in $23 million in fifth place.

Both debuts are well below expectations, and helped depress this year’s Thanksgiving-weekend box office by more than 20% from last year.

“Big Hero 6,” the latest animated film from Walt Disney Co., most likely siphoned business from “Penguins,” landing in third place with $26 million. It’s grossed $167 million so far.

Of the new releases, audiences liked “Penguins” best, giving it an “A-“ grade, according to the CinemaScore market-research firm. “Horrible Bosses 2” got a B+.

In other box-office news, two movies about British geniuses passed the test in limited release. “The Theory of Everything,” starring Eddie Redmayne as physicist Stephen Hawking, collected $6.4 million in an expanded release of about 800 theaters. And “The Imitation Game,” starring Benedict Cumberbatch as World War II codebreaker Alan Turing, took in $482,000 in just a handful of locations.

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