Notice: All forms on this website are temporarily down for maintenance. You will not be able to complete a form to request information or a resource. We apologize for any inconvenience and will reactivate the forms as soon as possible.

Movie Monday: The Battle of the Five Armies

What was the secret to having a successful movie this past weekend? Colons.

Four of the week’s Top Five box-office finishers sported that oft-overlooked double-decker period in its titles. Leading the charge, naturally, was a bevy of punctuation-loving dwarves in The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. (Even the picture seems to pay homage: See how the orc’s mace and head seem to look like a forward-leaning colon?) Bilbo, Thorin and Co. raided moviegoers’ coffers for an estimated $56.2 million. And when you add in the receipts for Wednesday and Thursday, too, Battle’s five-day take equals a horde-like $90.6 million. That’s almost enough to buy a ring of power.

 The weekend’s two other newcomers, Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb and Annie, trailed far behind Battle. Secret of the Tomb managed just $17.3 million, way off the $54.2 million Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian earned five years ago. (Another apparent key to success: the word battle in the title.) Annie—the only non-colonated movie in the Top Five—overcame its double-dot deficiency to collect $16.3 million. The sweet family musical was one of the films North Korean hackers leaked to the public early, and I wonder whether that had an impact on Annie’s take. But no matter: The sun will still come out tomorrow.

Exodus: Gods and Kings slipped mightily from its No. 1 perch, careening all the way down to fourth with $8.1 million. The $38.9 million Exodus has collected in North America so far is nowhere near close to covering the film’s $140 million budget—making the movie a veritable sea of red. But it might find a measure of salvation overseas, where it’s already banked $61.2 mil.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 will have no such trouble covering its expenses. Katniss and company collected another $7.8 million over the weekend, which brings its total domestic haul to a whopping $289.2 million. That makes it the second-biggest movie of the year, trailing only Guardians of the Galaxy.

Perhaps Mockingjay owes its success to having both a colon and a small dash in the title.

Final figures update: 1. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, $54.7 million; 2. Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb, $17.1 million; 3. Annie, $15.9 million; 4. Exodus: Gods and Kings, $8.1 million; 5. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1, $7.9 million.