With the newcomers failing the impress, the holdovers reigned supreme at the box office this weekend.
Coming in first again is Hidden Figures with $20.4 million. The space race drama continues to parlay its strong critical reception into great financial numbers, and it is now up to $54.8 million domestically for its run. What’s helped this film stand out over the past couple of weeks is its uplifting and inspirational story, which makes it a feel-good time at the theater. That’s a nice change-of-pace from some of the more dramatic and heavy awards contenders, and Hidden Figures has found a sizable audience.
In second is La La Land. Damien Chazelle’s ode to the Hollywood musical saw a significant increase in ticket sales from last week and brought in $14.5 million in its sixth weekend to raise its Stateside total to $74 million. The Oscar frontrunner has scored numerous accolades, including an impressive seven Golden Globes. As it awaits the inevitable slew of Academy Award nominations, La La Land should continue to impress as we make our way through awards season.
The #3 film this week is Sing with $13.8 million. Illumination Entertainment’s latest animated hit is now up to $233 million in the U.S. and has beat Doctor Strange for tenth place on the 2016 domestic charts.
Coming in fourth is Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Lucasfilm’s spinoff grossed $13.7 million in its fifth weekend to raise its domestic total to $498.8 million. In the process, Rogue One passed fellow Disney release Finding Dory as the top-earning film for 2016 in North America. Worldwide, the film currently stands at $979.9 million, inching closer the the coveted $1 billion milestone.
Rounding out the top five is new horror movie The Bye Bye Man, which brought in $13.3 million in its opening weekend. Though the film was panned by critics, fans of the genre have had little to choose from lately, which certainly increased Bye Bye Man‘s overall appeal. Since the project didn’t break out of its niche, it’s unlikely to stick around the top of the charts for long, but it’s already on its way to turning a profit. Production costs were a meager $7.4 million, and the global total is currently at $14.6 million.
In sixth is Patriots Day (read our review), which expanded nationwide to 3,120 theaters. Peter Berg’s drama based on the Boston Marathon bombing made $12 million over the weekend, which is considerably less than the $20 million debut Berg’s previous film, Deepwater Horizon, had last year. Its domestic total is now $12.9 million.
Monster Trucks (read our review) opens in seventh with $10.5 million. While the film’s reviews were better than some expected going in, it’s hard to say that Paramount’s $125 million investment was critically acclaimed. The poor reception, coupled with a lack of general interest, caused Monster Trucks to have an uphill climb at the box office, and it couldn’t make much of an impact. The studio has long been prepping for this family film to bomb, and it looks like their concerns were warranted. It’s unlikely Monster Trucks will turn things around and have strong legs commercially in the coming weeks.
In eighth is Sleepless, the new thriller starring Jamie Foxx. Like most of the newcomers this week, it was plagued by poor reviews and was overshadowed by the other movies still playing. Despite a recognizable cast that included Foxx, Michelle Monaghan, and Gabrielle Union (among others), it couldn’t find much of an audience. Sleepless made just $8.4 million in its first three days.
Coming in ninth is Underworld: Blood Wars, which took a 57.5 percent hit from its debut and made $5.8 million during its second weekend. The action sequel is now up to $23.9 million domestically. Its saving grace has been the international marketplace, as the global total stands at $70.7 million.
Capping off the top ten is Passengers. The sci-fi romance made $5.6 million in its fourth weekend to raise its Stateside total to $90 million.
Outside the top ten: Two respected directors did not have the starts they hoped for. Ben Affleck’s Live By Night (read our review) stumbled out of the gates with just $5.4 million, which shockingly is less than the $5.5 million opening weekend of the filmmaker’s Gone Baby Gone in 2007. And it was always expected that Martin Scorsese’s religious drama Silence (read our review) would not be as accessible as the auteur’s crime-driven productions, but it managed a disappointing $1.9 million in its wide debut and finished 16th on the charts.
[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 16 — at which time we’ll update this post with any changes.]
