New Movies December 11: A Whale of a Tale

Last weekend was supposed be an uneventful one at the box office, as just one new film was released widely. But that one new film, Krampus, did good business, and what is traditionally one of the slowest movie weekends of the year turned out to be a decent one in terms of ticket sales. This week, the predictions of a weak box office are more likely to come true.

Once again, there's only one big new movie entering the fray this week. This time it's In the Heart of the Sea, a period adventure from director Ron Howard. It stars Chris Hemsworth as crewman on a 19th-century sailing ship that is threatened by a murderous whale. On paper, the movie looks like a good idea; Howard is able to produce blockbusters, and Hemsworth does just fine at the box office, at least when he's dressed as Thor. Throw in a bunch of spectacular CGI, and you could have a real success on your hands.

But In The Heart of the Sea is drawing mostly mediocre reviews from critics, and when it opened internationally last week, it didn't get much love from audiences, either. Observers are predicting that it will earn only about $12 million in the US this weekend. Considering that the movie's production budget is in the vicinity of $100 million, that's bad news.

That take could be enough to win a quiet weekend, though, assuming that strong holdovers Krampus, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2, and Creed settle down considerably.