‘Mockingjay’ wins Thanksgiving leftovers race at the Friday box office

Audiences are still eating up “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay -- Part I,” in a typically slow post-Thanksgiving weekend at the box office.

Heading toward its third consecutive week at No. 1, the Jennifer Lawrence-led Lionsgate franchise film topped the U.S. box office Friday with $6.6 million. That puts “Mockingjay,” the third movie in the hit young adult series, on track to gross $20 million to $25 million domestically by Sunday night.

The weekend after Thanksgiving is traditionally a moribund one at the box office, as audiences opt for holiday shopping and partygoing in lieu of movies -- for their part, studios have offered no new films in wide release.

Two Thanksgiving weekend holdovers came in second and third at the box office Friday -- “Horrible Bosses 2,” Warner Bros.’ R-rated comedy starring Jason Bateman and Jennifer Aniston, with $2.7 million, and 20th Century Fox and DreamWorks Animation’s comedy “The Penguins of Madagascar,” with $2.4 million on Friday.

Early November releases, Paramount’s “Interstellar” ($2.1 million) and Disney’s “Big Hero 6” ($1.8 million), rounded out the top five.

In smaller releases, 20th Century Fox’s microbudget horror film “The Pyramid” brought in $458,000 from 589 screens.

Among awards season movies in theaters this weekend, Open Road’s thriller “Nightcrawler” took in $310,000 after expanding to 1,257 screens, while Fox Searchlight’s “Wild” started to find its footing in limited release, bringing in $165,000 Friday in just 21 locations.

Twitter: @ThatRebecca