Scott Cooper's gritty thriller Out of the Furnace is having trouble igniting interest at the North American box office despite its strong ensemble cast, led by Christian Bale, Woody Harrelson and Casey Affleck.

Box Office: 'Out of the Furnace' Bombing; 'Frozen,' 'Catching Fire' Vie for No. 1 - The Hollywood Reporter

Out of the Furnace -- set in Pennsylvania's Rust Belt and earning a problematic C+ CinemaScore -- took in an estimated $1.9 million Friday to come in No. 3 behind holdovers The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and animated entry Frozen. For the weekend, Out of the Furnace may have trouble hitting $6 million, marking the worst opening for a Bale film debuting in more than 2,000 theaters.

A winter storm moving its way up the Ohio Valley is hinderingmoviegoing on what's already one of the slowest weekends of the year as consumers recover from Thanksgiving.