‘In the Heart of the Sea’ Sets Sail With $575,000 at Thursday Box Office

Universal’s “Legend” is also going wide this weekend

IN the Heart of the Sea

Ron Howard‘s nautical disaster epic, “In the Heart of the Sea,” made $575,000 at the box office on Thursday night.

The $100 million budget film tells the story of the Essex, a whaling ship that lost a run-in with a gigantic sperm whale, inspiring Herman Melville’s “Moby Dick.”

The film, starring Chris Hemsworth in the leading role, currently holds a 48 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and is expected to make $10 to $15 million this weekend.

The film also stars Benjamin Walker, Cillian Murphy, Tom Holland, Ben Whishaw and Brendan Gleeson. Last weekend, it opened in 38 foreign markets and earned $18.5 million.

Written by Charles Leavitt, “In the Heart of the Sea” is produced by Howard, Brian Grazer, Will Ward, Joe Roth and Paula Weinstein.

Universal’s “Legend” is going wide this weekend after opening in limited release on Nov. 20.

The film stars Tom Hardy in dual roles as the twin British crime kingpins Reggie and Ronald Kray. Emily Browning, Christopher Eccleston, Paul Bettany and Tara Fitzgerald co-star in the R-rated film. It averaged an unspectacular $4,587 in 61 theaters last weekend.

So far, the crime drama has grossed a little over $1 million at the domestic box office. It currently holds a Rotten Tomato score of 59 percent.

Adam McKay‘s “The Big Short” is opening in limited release this weekend, playing at eight locations until its wide release on Dec. 23.

Starring Brad Pitt, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling and Christian Bale, the film chronicles a group of four men who predict the credit and housing bubble collapse in the mid-2000s, and decide to take on the big banks.

Currently, the film boasts a score of 87 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.

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