Rogue One Wins 4th Weekend in a Row at the Box Office

Most box office prognosticators presumed that Disney and LucasFilm’s Rogue One: A Star Wars Story would have no trouble winning the last few weeks of 2016, along with the first few weeks of 2016. So far, that prediction has come true, with the Star Wars spin-off winning the last three weeks of 2016, and now the first weekend of 2017, but just barely. Rogue One came out on top with $21.9 million, just barely beating Hidden Figures which expanded nationwide to earn $21.8 million. Since these movies are so close together, they may switch places when the actual figures are released tomorrow, but we’ll have to want and see.

Box Office Mojo reports that the only new movie opening in wide release, Underworld 5, starring Kate Beckinsale as Selene, opened in 3,070 theaters, which is much higher than the estimated 2,300 theaters it was expected to open in, with Hidden Figures expanding into 2,471 theaters, an increase of 2,446 theaters. Another movie expanding nationwide, A Monster Calls, expanded to 1,523 theaters, an increase of 1,519, but it failed to crack the top 10, opening in 13th place with $2.01 million, with a paltry per-screen average of $1,326. All of these expanding movies are far short of Rogue One’s 4,157 theater count, which has remained unchanged since it opened on December 16.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story dropped only 22.6% in its third frame last weekend, when it took in $49.5 million, but this weekend it dropped 55.7%, with a $5,286 per-screen average. Rogue One’s domestic total increases to $477.2 million, which is roughly $9 million short of Finding Dory’s $486.2 million, but it should surpass that Disney animated sequel as the top movie of 2016. Hidden Figures expanded into second place with $21.8 million, followed by Sing, Universal’s hit animated musical, which dropped to third place with $19.5 million, Underworld: Blood Wars in fourth place with $13.1 million and La La Land in fifth place with $10 million. This weekend marks the first time that an Underworld movie has not opened with more than $20 million.

The next installment in the blockbuster franchise, Underworld: Blood Wars follows Vampire death dealer, Selene (Kate Beckinsale) as she fends off brutal attacks from both the Lycan clan and the Vampire faction that betrayed her. With her only allies, David (Theo James) and his father Thomas (Charles Dance), she must stop the eternal war between Lycans and Vampires, even if it means she has to make the ultimate sacrifice. Kate Beckinsale leadsd a cast that includes Theo James, Lara Pulver, Tobias Menzies, Bradley James, James Faulkner and Charles Dance. Anna Foerster directs from a screenplay by Cory Goodman.

A Monster Calls centers on 12-year-old Conor (Lewis MacDougall), who is dealing with far more than other boys his age. His beloved and devoted mother (Felicity Jones) is ill. He has little in common with his imperious grandmother (Sigourney Weaver). His father (Toby Kebbell) has resettled thousands of miles away. But Conor finds a most unlikely ally when the Monster (portrayed by Liam Neeson in performance-capture and voiceover) appears at his bedroom window one night. Ancient, wild, and relentless, the Monster guides Conor on a journey of courage, faith, and truth that powerfully fuses imagination and reality. Juan Antonio Bayona directs from a screenplay by Patrick Ness, based on his own novel of the same name.

Hidden Figures is based on an incredible true story about three women who helped the U.S. win the “Space Race.” As the United States raced against Russia to put a man in space, NASA found untapped talent in a group of African-American female mathematicians that served as the brains behind one of the greatest operations in U.S. history. Based on the unbelievably true life stories of three of these women, known as “human computers”, we follow these women as they quickly rose the ranks of NASA alongside many of history’s greatest minds specifically tasked with calculating the momentous launch of astronaut John Glenn into orbit, and guaranteeing his safe return. Dorothy Vaughn, Mary Jackson, and Katherine Johnson crossed all gender, race, and professional lines while their brilliance and desire to dream big, beyond anything ever accomplished before by the human race, firmly cemented them in U.S. history as true American heroes.

The top 10 is rounded out by Passengers ($8.8 million), Why Him? ($6.5 million), Moana ($6.4 million), Fences ($4.7 million) and Assassin’s Creed ($3.8 million). Also opening in limited release is Well Go USA’s Railroad Tigers, which earned $127,600 from 42 theaters for a $3,038 per-screen average. No box office data was given for Film Movement’s The Ardennes and IFC’s I, Daniel Blake It remains to be seen whether or not these films will expand in the weeks to come. Looking ahead to next weekend, three more movies will debut, while three more will expand nationwide. Paramount’s Monster Trucks, Open Road Films’ Sleepless and STX Entertainment’s The Bye Bye Man will debut in theaters, while Warner Bros.’ Live By Night, Lionsgate’s Patriots Day and Paramount’s Silence will expand nationwide. Take a look at the top 10 projections for the weekend of January 6.