The question was never, “WillRogue Onewin its opening weekend?” It was by how much. While no one expected it to pull in the record-breaking numbers ofStar Wars: The Force Awakens, tracking for the firstStar Warsspinoff was strong, and the film pulled in a healthy $155 million domestically on its opening weekend in 4,157 theaters and $290.5 million globally, which is good enough for the second-highest opening in December behindForce Awakens.
This opening bodes well for the future ofStar Warsspinoffs. Disney did a solid job of selling the movie, and it shows that theStar Warsfranchise can easily rake in the cash even if it’s pushing a movie that’s not part of the main saga. Of course, now the question becomes what kind of legsRogue Onewill have. The movie nabbed an “A” CinemaScore, so word-of-mouth should be strong enough to carry it through the holiday season. While it’s unlikely to matchThe Force Awakens’ impressive total,Rogue Oneshould still be a massive hit for Disney and an encouraging sign for future spinoffs.
The other question is how futureStar Warsmovies will fare. WhileRogue Oneis enjoying its day in the sun, fans’ attention will quickly shift toRian Johnson’sEpisode VIII. Sequels tend not to perform as well as the originals, but people really warmed toForce Awakens’ new characters, so it’s possible that the next chapter in theStar Warssaga could set entirely new records.
Meanwhile, the week’s other new wide release,Collateral Beautyperformed horribly. Despite pulling in an A- CinemaScore the movie only grossed $7 million from 3,028 theaters, which is a career worst opening for starWill Smith. According to THR, the film cost $36 million to make, so perhaps internationally and with home release it can scrape back its budget, but I suspect Smith will be far more wary of taking Oscar-bait in the future. Considering the success ofSuicide Squad, he may just stick with blockbusters.
Over in indie releases,Kenneth Lonergan’s excellentManchester by the Seaexpanded nationwide and pulled in $4.2 million from 1,208 theaters for a domestic total of $14 million. While that’s a solid total for a grief drama, it only narrowly beat outLa La Land, which made $4 million from only 200 cinemas for a 10-day domestic total of $5.3 million. Also in specialty box office,Denzel Washington’sFencesopened in limited release and made $128,000 from four theaters in Los Angeles and New York for a screen average of $32,000. The Oscar-hopeful expands nationwide on Christmas Day.
What did you go and support this weekend? Let us know, and check out the full Top 10 weekend box office results below:
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
$155,000,000
$11,664,000
$161,858,745
Office Christmas Party
$8,450,000
$31,518,267
Collateral Beauty
$7,000,000
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
$5,030,000
Manchester by the Sea
$4,156,338
$14,016,643
La La Land
$4,020,000
$5,260,166
$2,775,000
$86,468,367
Doctor Strange
$2,036,000
$226,086,027
Nocturnal Animals
$1,391,380
$8,812,746
