Actress-director Angelina Jolie's war drama "Unbroken" opened with $850,000 on Christmas Eve, showing at 1,979 US theatres.

Universal expanded "Unbroken" into 3,131 locations on Christmas Day amid serious competition from four new films, including Sony's "The Interview" and "The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies", reports variety.com.

"Unbroken" depicts the life of Olympian and war hero Louis Zamperini, portrayed by Jack O'Connell. Zamperini, who died in July at the age of 97, survived in a raft for 47 days after his bomber was downed in World War 2, and was sent to a series of prisoner-of-war camps.

Universal has been estimating that "Unbroken" will finish the four-day Christmas weekend in the $17 million to $19 million range.

The film, co-produced by Legendary Entertainment, faces a trio of other wide releases -- Disney's "Into the Woods" at 2,440 sites, Paramount's "The Gambler" at 2,478, and the Weinstein Co.'s "Big Eyes" -- and Sony's opening of "The Interview" at over 300 independent theatres.