After a 10-year drought ofStar Warsmovies, fans have been treated to two new adventures in as many years, both of which have been wildly successful, with no end in sight to this hallowed franchise.Star Wars: The Force Awakensopened with a box office record debut of $247.9 million, en route to an all-time domestic record of $936.6 million and a worldwide gross of $2.06 billion, the third highest ever behindTitanic($2.1 billion) andAvatar($2.7 billion). This year, LucasFilm released the first ever theatrical spin-off,Rogue One: A Star Warsstory, which was projected to take in $130 million in its domesticopening weekend, and $350 million worldwide. The spin-off actually exceeded its domestic projections with $155.5 million, but fell just short of its global predictions with $290.5 million.
Box Office Mojoreports thatRogue Oneopened in 4,157 theaters, for an impressive $37,287, and the spin-off was also a hit with critics, earning a solid 84% on Rotten Tomatoes.Rogue One’s only competition was Warner Bros.‘Collateral Beauty, opened in 3,028 theaters, but it could only manage to take fourth place with a paltry per-screen average of $2,312. Earlier this week,Collateral Beautyhad an awful 0% score on Rotten Tomatoes, although it managed to slightly improve to 14%. Despite an all-star cast, lead byWill Smith,Collateral Beautywas never expected to giveRogue Oneany competition, although it was produced under a $36 million budget, compared to the $200 million spent onRogue One: A Star Wars Story. It’s still possible that it could earn a profit, if the film picks up in international markets, since it has only earned $4.6 million overseas so far.Rogue One’s huge debut comes after the first two weekends of December produced incredibly lackluster results.
The first two weekends of December were dominated by holdoverMoana, with only two new movies arriving in wide release,Incarnate, which opened in ninth place with $2.6 million and last weekend’s holiday comedy from Paramount,Office Christmas Party, which opened in second place with a decent $17.5 million. After dominating the box office for the past three weekends,Moanafinally dropped to second place this weekend with $11.6 million, although it only dropped 37.1%. The animated adventureMoanahas currently taken in $161.8 million at the domestic box office and $118.4 million in international markets for a worldwide total of $280.2 million. Last weekend’s newcomer, theR-ratedcomedyOffice Christmas Party, dropped exactly 50% falling to third place with $8.4 million, with the top 5 rounded out byCollateral Beautywith $7 million andFantastic Beasts and Where to Find Themwith $5 million.
This weekend will also feature an expansion into 1,208 theaters for the critically-acclaimed indieManchester-by-the-Sea, which rises from seventh place last weekend to sixth place this weekend with $4.1 million. The film expanded into 842 more theaters this weekend for a $3,441 per-screen average. This critically-acclaimed indie, starringCasey AffleckandMichelle Williams, took in $256,498 from just four theaters for an impressive $64,125 per-screen average during its debut on the November 18 weekend. It has continued to expand in the following weeks, playing in 48 theaters over the November 25 weekend, pulling in a $25,541 per-screen average, followed by 156 theaters on December 2 for a $14,557 per-screen average and 366 theaters last weekend for a $8,556 per-screen average, cracking the top 10 for the first time in 8th place.
From Lucasfilm comes the first of the Star Wars standalone films,Rogue One: A Star Wars Storyan all-new epic adventure. In a time of conflict, a group of unlikely heroes band together on a mission to steal the plans to the Death Star, the Empire’s ultimate weapon of destruction. This key event in the Star Wars timeline brings together ordinary people who choose to do extraordinary things, and in doing so, become part of something greater than themselves.Rogue One: A Star Wars Storyis directed byGareth Edwardsand starsFelicity Jones,Diego Luna,Ben Mendelsohn,Donnie Yen,Mads Mikkelsen,Alan Tudyk,Riz Ahmed, withJiang WenandForest Whitaker.Kathleen Kennedy,Allison ShearmurandSimon Emanuelare producing, withJohn KnollandJason McGatlinserving as executive producers. The story is byJohn KnollandGary Whitta, and the screenplay is byChris WeitzandTony Gilroy.
Collateral Beautycenters on a successful New York ad executive suffers a personal tragedy and retreats from life, his friends devise a drastic plan to reach him before he loses everything. Pushing him to the very edge, they force him to confront the truth in surprising and profoundly human ways. From Oscar-winning directorDavid Frankel, this thought-provoking drama explores how even the deepest loss can reveal moments of beauty, and how the constants of love, time and death interlock in a life fully lived. The cast includesWill Smith,Edward Norton,Helen Mirren,Keira Knightley,Naomie Harris,Michael Pena,Kate WinsletandJacob Latimore.
The top 10 will be rounded out byManchester-by-the-Sea($4.1 million), the expandingLa La Land($4 million,Arrival($3.8 million),Doctor Strange($3.2 million),Allied($2.9 million) andNocturnal Animals($2.1 million).La La Landopened huge last weekend with $881,104 from just five theaters for an astounding per-screen average of $176,221. This weekend, it expanded into 200 theaters, for an impressive $20,100 in its second weekend. Paramount also debutedFences, starringDenzel WashingtonandViola Davisin New York and Los Angeles before expanding nationwide on Christmas Day. This critically-acclaimed drama got off to a great start, earning $128,000 from four theaters for a $32,000 per-screen average. Also opening in limited release is The Orchard’sNeruda, which earned $28,265 from three theaters for a $9,422 per-screen average, but no box office data was released for Indican’sThe Grace of Jake, Independent’sHollow Pointand Lionsgate Premiere’sSolace. It isn’t known if there are plans for the rest of these to expand throughout the holiday season.
Looking ahead to next weekend, three new releases open on Wednesday, December 21, while another debuts on Friday, December 23. 20th Century Fox’sAssassin’s Creedwill go up against Sony’sPassengersand Universal’sSingon December 21, with 20th Century Fox’sWhy Him?opening on December 23. Also opening in limited release on December 21 is Lionsgate’s harrowing dramaPatriots Day, Sony Pictures Classics’Julietaand UTV’sDangal, while Focus Features’A Monster Callsand Paramount’sSilencedebut in limited release on December 23. Take a look at the estimated top 10 for the weekend of December 16.
