Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
‘Rogue One’ retains top spot at box office
It was an intergalactic holiday at movie theaters as “Rogue One” blasted past a spate of new releases to hold onto the top spot at the weekend box office.
The “Star Wars” story added another $96 million to its coffers over the four-day holiday period, according to studio estimates Monday.
“The power of the ‘Star Wars’ brand made it the odds-on favorite to be the No. 1 film on Christmas weekend despite a massive amount of competition,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for box-office tracker comScore.
That left the weekend’s many new releases in a race for second place. The animated animal musical “Sing” claimed that spot, debuting to $56 million. The Jennifer Lawrence-Chris Pratt space tale “Passengers” opened in third place with $23.1 million, followed by the R-rated comedy “Why Him?” with $16.7 million. The video game adaptation “Assassin’s Creed” debuted in fifth place with $15 million.
“Star Wars” also dominated the holiday box office last year with “The Force Awakens.”
Half a dozen other films either opened or expanded over the holiday weekend. Denzel Washington’s adaptation of August Wilson’s “Fences” expanded on Sunday, earning $11.4 million over the four-day weekend, good for sixth place.
While still in limited release, the celebrated musical “La La Land” opened in 534 additional theaters and finished the weekend in eighth place.