It was a tough fight for the top spot at the box office, but moviegoers are still strong with the Force.
Finishing at #1 for the fourth straight week is Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which brought in $41.6 million over the weekend. The space opera increased its domestic total to a whopping $812 million, becoming the first film to reach $800 million in its North American run. Business is starting to slow down a bit, but Star Wars 7 is still going pretty strong, and many are beginning to wonder if it can actually top $1 billion in the States.
Giving Star Wars a hard-earned run for its money was surprisingly The Revenant (read our review), which expanded nationwide on January 8. Fueled by the awards buzz and Leonardo DiCaprio headlining the project, the film brought in an impressive $38 million over the weekend. It is now up to $39.5 million domestically. The Revenant actually managed to beat Star Wars on Friday and seemed poised to pull off the upset, but it just couldn’t manage it once the weekend was over. Nevertheless, this is a great start for Fox’s Oscar hopeful, and if the Academy bestows some nominations for it later this week, that will only add to its high appeal with audiences.
Coming in third is Daddy’s Home with $15 million. The comedy has grossed $116.3 million in the U.S.
Debuting at #4 is the horror film, The Forest (read our review), which brought in $13 million during its first three days. Entering theaters with limited hype and poor word-of-mouth, nobody expected much of it, but this was a solid turnout for the movie. The production budget was just $10 million, meaning The Forest is on its way to making a profit for the studio by the time its run is over.
Rounding out the top five is Sisters with $7.1 million. Tina Fey and Amy Poehler’s latest is now up to $74.8 million domestically.
Falling to #6 is Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight, which made $6.3 million in the second weekend of its wide release. Though the film has generated positive reviews, it is not the subject of much awards buzz (unlike Tarantino’s previous films). That was most likely the culprit in its 59.6 percent decline, especially with The Revenant opening and appealing to a similar demographic. Hateful Eight is up to $41.4 million domestically, inching closer to recouping its $44 million production budget.
Once again, awards frontrunner The Big Short came in seventh, making $6.3 million in its fifth weekend. The financial crisis drama has now grossed $42.8 million domestically.
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip came at #8 with $5.5 million. The live-action/animation hybrid is up to $75.6 million in the States.
David O. Russell’s Joy is the #9 film, grossing $4.5 million during its third weekend. The film has now made $46.5 million domestically, a far cry from how the director’s previous films have performed.
Finishing off the top 10 is Concussion, which brought in $3 million. The football drama is now up to $30.9 million.
[NOTE: These are only weekend box office estimates — based on Friday and Saturday ticket sales coupled with adjusted expectations for Sunday. Official weekend box office results will be released on Monday, January 11 — at which time we’ll update this post with any changes.]
