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With ‘Force Awakens’ looming, ‘Heart of the Sea’ sinks

This photo provided by Warner Bros. Pictures shows, Chris Hemsworth, right, as Owen Chase, and Sam Keeley as Ramsdell, left, in a scene from the film, "In the Heart of the Sea." The movie opens in U.S. theaters on Dec. 11, 2015. (Jonathan Prime/Warner Bros. Pictures via AP) This photo provided by Warner Bros. Pictures shows, Chris Hemsworth, right, as Owen Chase, and Sam Keeley as Ramsdell, left, in a scene from the film, "In the Heart of the Sea." The movie opens in U.S. theaters on Dec. 11, 2015. (Jonathan Prime/Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)

By Associated Press December 13, 2015 1 min read

NEW YORK (AP) – With “The Force Awakens” looming, “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2” notched its fourth-straight weekend atop the box office, while Ron Howard’s whaling tale “In the Heart of the Sea” capsized.

It was a quiet weekend at movie theaters. Few studios wanted to push out a new release days before “The Force Awakens.” That left the final chapter of the “Hunger Games” saga to remain no. 1 with $11.3 million according to studio estimates Sunday.

“In the Heart of the Sea,” starring Chris Hemsworth, was the only major new release to test the pre-“Star Wars” waters. But its hopes sank with an estimated $11 million despite a production budget around $100 million.

In limited release, Adam McKay’s finance farce “The Big Short” opened strongly with $720,000 in eight theaters.