Moviefone Editorial

Tag: weekend-box-office

  • Box Office: ‘Logan’ Shreds the Competition With $85.3 Million

    By Brent Lang

    LOS ANGELES, March 5 (Variety.com) – “Logan” tore into the weekend box office, opening to a massive $85.3 million and proving that moviegoers will show up in force for R-rated comic book movies. The superhero spinoff marks Hugh Jackman‘s last turn as Wolverine after 17 years of donning the adamantium claws.

    As the movie business grows more saturated with stories about costumed vigilantes, studios are trying to find ways to differentiate their own comic book adaptations. Like “Deadpool” before it, “Logan” demonstrates that adults will turn out for tentpole fare that is bloodier and more profane than your average X-Men movie.

    “Logan” was produced by 20th Century Fox and cost $97 million to make. Set in the near future, it follows Wolverine and an ailing Professor X (Patrick Stewart), who leaving their hiding place on the Mexican border to help a young mutant (Dafne Keen). James Mangold, who previously collaborated with Jackman on 2013’s “The Wolverine,” directed the movie and co-wrote the screenplay. Critics embraced the film, hailing it as a comic book movie with bite, with Variety’s Owen Gleiberman writing that “Logan” “…brings the saga to a satisfying finish.”

    Despite “Logan’s” dominance, Blumhouse and Universal’s “Get Out” kept going strong. The low-budget thriller racked up $26.1 million, bringing its domestic haul to $75.9 million. That’s an impressive return for a film that cost less than $5 million to make.

    Lionsgate’s “The Shack” took third place, earning a solid $16.1 million in its first weekend in theaters. The faith-based drama stars Oscar-winner Octavia Spencer and cost $26 million to produce. “The Shack” centers on a man (Sam Worthington) whose religious beliefs are tested following a family tragedy.

    Warner Bros.’ “The Lego Batman Movie” and Lionsgate’s “John Wick: Chapter 2” rounded out the top five, earning $11.6 million and $4.7 million, respectively. That pushes the Lego spinoff’s box office total to $148.6 million and gives the John Wick followup a domestic gross of $83 million.

    Fresh off its best picture win, A24’s “Moonlight” grossed over $2.5 million and crossed the $25 million mark. The indie studio expects the coming-of-age drama to be the highest-grossing film in its history. That said, “Moonlight,” which focuses on a young man growing up gay in Miami, is one of the least widely seen best picture winners, trailing the likes of “Spotlight” ($45 million, domestically ) and “Birdman” ($42.3 million, domestically). It has grossed more than “The Hurt Locker,” the 2009 victor that made just over $17 million stateside.

    Bleecker Street’s “The Last Word” opened to $35,620 in limited release. The story of an aging businesswoman (Shirley MacLaine) who enlists a writer (Amanda Seyfried) to pen her obituary, screened in four locations last weekend.

  • Weekend Box Office: ‘Get Out’ Scares Up Whopping $30.5M Debut

    Box Office Get OutBy Brent Lang

    LOS ANGELES, Feb 26 (Variety.com) – “Get Out,” a trenchant horror film about race relations, rode critical raves to a smashing box office debut. The low-budget film was the weekend’s top-grossing domestic release, earning $30.5 million, and propelling its director and writer Jordan Peele onto the Hollywood A-list. The film, which centers on a black man who discovers that his girlfriend’s liberal, lily-white hometown is guarding a sinister secret, marks a departure for Peele, who is best-known for his work on the Comedy Central series “Key & Peele.” It proves he can handle scares, as well as laughs, supplying sly social commentary in both genres.

    “Get Out” also extends Blumhouse Productions’ hot hand. The film company scored earlier this year with “Split,” a thriller about a man with a personality disorder that racked up $130.8 million stateside on a $9 million budget. Universal distributed, marketed, and partnered on both movies.

    “Get Out” benefited from being embraced by reviewers, earning a rare 100% “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with the likes of the Wall Street Journal’s Joe Morgenstern hailing its “explosive brilliance” and the New York Times’ Manohla Dargis praising it as “exhilaratingly smart.” Not the kind of notices most horror films enjoy. Its success comes as most of the movie business’ gaze is affixed on the Dolby Theater, where the Academy Awards will unfold on Sunday, with “La La Land” expected to be the night’s big winner.

    With “Get Out” galvanizing multiplexes, two other new releases, “Collide” and “Rock Dog,” collapsed.

    As the newcomers stumbled, “The Lego Batman Movie” continued to show strength, racking up $19 million in its third week to push its domestic gross to $133 million.

  • Box Office: ‘LEGO Batman’ Crushes All Newcomers, ‘Cure for Wellness’ Bombs

    “The LEGO Batman Movie” dominated the North American box office with an estimated $44 million this President’s Day weekend — nearly matching the combined haul of “Fifty Shades Darker” and “The Great Wall.”

    Universal’s second weekend of “Fifty Shades” is heading for $24 million at 3,714 sites and its action-fantasy “The Great Wall” was projected to wind up with $21 million at 3,325 locations for the Friday-Monday period. Lionsgate’s second weekend of “John Wick: Chapter 2” is finishing in a solid fourth place with $19.5 million at 3,113 venues as holdovers propped up the holiday weekend business.

    New Line’s opening of high school comedy “Fist Fight” showed only a modest punch in fifth with around $14 million at 3,185 locations. And Fox’s horror-thriller “A Cure for Wellness” was scaring up a modest $4.9 million at 2,704 screens as it was projected to finish 11th.

    “Fifty Shades Darker” declined about 55 percent from its opening weekend and should finish its second frame with an 11-day total of $93 million.
    Universal’s “The Great Wall” is performing above recent forecasts, which had pegged the film to finish in the $17 million range. Still, the number isn’t particularly impressive, given the $150 million budget for the Legendary production — the most expensive movie ever shot in China.

    Matt Damon stars as a European mercenary joining the fight against monsters during China’s Song Dynasty.

  • Box Office: ‘Fifty Shades Darker’ Gets Overshadowed by ‘Lego Batman Movie’

    By Brent Lang

    LOS ANGELES, Feb 12 (Variety.com) – Costumed avengers, a billionaire with a kinky side, and a brutally efficient hit man proved to be just the tonic for an ailing domestic box office.

    “The Lego Batman Movie” bested “Fifty Shades Darker” at the multiplexes over the weekend, earning a robust $55.6 million to capture first place. “Fifty Shades Darker,” the sequel to 2015’s “Fifty Shades of Grey,” couldn’t quite match its predecessor’s $85.2 million launch. It had to settle for a still sizable $46.8 million debut and second place on the box office chart.

    Not to be outdone, Lionsgate’s “John Wick: Chapter 2,” a followup to 2015’s “John Wick,” picked up a smashing $30 million. That’s more than double what the first film racked up during its debut. The three new releases succeeded by appealing to different demographics and age groups — kids went to the new Lego movie, women were titilated by Christian Grey’s red room, and men looked on as Keanu Reeve‘s assassin made quick work of his foes. Heading into the weekend, stateside ticket sales were lagging behind last year’s numbers, down nearly 3% from 2016. Studio executives and exhibition industry insiders hope that this weekend will help reinvigorate interest in moviegoing, a comeback that will be aided by the upcoming release of “Logan,” a new Wolverine movie, and a live-action version of “Beauty and the Beast.”

    Warner Bros. backed “The Lego Batman Movie” and sees the animated films built around the line of Danish toys as being key to its corporate future. The studio is leaning heavily on a slate of animated Lego films, DC Comics adventures, and “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” a Harry Potter spinoff, to help it compete with Disney. That studio has popularized the concept of branded movies, with its arsenal of Star Wars, Marvel, and Pixar films. “The Lego Batman Movie” cost $80 million to make, which is downright affordable at a time when many animated films carry budgets that are more than $200 million. It pits Batman against the Joker, and boasts a voice cast that includes Will Arnett, Zach Galifianakis, Michael Cera, Rosario Dawson, and Ralph Fiennes.

    “The Lego Batman Movie” now as the biggest opening of any 2017 release, but it did fall short of projections. Some analysts had predicted the family film would make more than $60 million.

    “Fifty Shades Darker” is a Universal release. The studio didn’t give a budget for the film (as is its wont these days), but knowledgeable estimates put its cost in the range of $55 million. The sequel may have lost some of the audience who saw the first film to see just how much riding crop would make its way to screens, but there are other reasons it couldn’t equal the reception of “Fifty Shades of Grey.” That movie benefited from being released over the President’s Day holiday, a period that also coincided with Valentine’s Day, making it the date night movie dujour.

    Universal’s “Split” surrendered the first place it had occupied for three consecutive weekends to the barrage of newcomers. The hit thriller took in $9.3 million to capture fourth place on the chart, while pushing its domestic haul to $112.3 million.

    Fox’s “Hidden Figures” rounded out the top five, earning $8 million. The Oscar-nominated drama about African-American NASA employees fighting racial prejudice in the early days of the space program has made $131.4 million stateside.

    In milestone news, Universal and Illumination’s “Sing” topped $500 million globally. The animated film about a talent competition has launched a new animated franchise for the studios.

  • Box Office: ‘Split’ Takes Top Spot for a Third Week, ‘Rings’ Takes Second

    Split is No. 1 at the box office for a third week, Rings takes second By Brent Lang

    LOS ANGELES, Feb 5 (Variety.com) – It was a squeaker, but Universal’s “Split” has edged past Paramount’s “Rings” to narrowly claim victory at the domestic box office. The low-budget thriller retained its first place position for the third consecutive weekend, earning $14.6 million. So far, “Split,” the story of a man with multiple personalities, has made $98.7 million stateside, while costing just $9 million, making it very profitable indeed. The film stars James McAvoy, was directed by “The Sixth Sense’s” M. Night Shyamalan, and produced by Jason Blum’s Blumhouse Productions, the maker of “Sinister” and “Paranormal Activity.”

    “It’s a darn good movie,” said Nick Carpou, Universal’s domestic distribution chief. “It’s very satisfying for audiences. People seek out quality.”

    It was a quiet weekend for Hollywood. After all, most of America’s attention has shifted away from the multiplexes to the coming battle between the New England Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons. The two teams will meet at Super Bowl LI, and the high-profile matchup should ensure that the weekend box office closes on a muted note.

    “Rings,” an attempt to revive a long-dormant horror franchise, earned $13 million. The first “Ring” movie opened to $15 million in 2002 on its way to a $129.1 million domestic gross, while its followup, 2005’s “The Ring Two,” kicked off to $35.1 million, ending its stateside run with $76.2 million. “Rings” was delayed multiple times, and was originally intended to hit theaters in 2015. It cost $25 million to produce and, like its predecessors, focuses on a videotape that kills those who watch it. Overseas, “Rings” took in $15.2 million from 35 international markets, including Brazil, Mexico, and Russia. Paramount marketing and distribution chief Megan Colligan said she was pleased by the reception the film received here and abroad.

    “It’s solid,” she said. “Internationally we did incredibly well and it’s nice to have over-performed in certain markets like Brazil.” As for whether or not “Rings” will lead to more sequels, Colligan offered, “time will tell.”

    Paramount has gone through a bruising period at the box office, enduring a stream of painful flops such as “Allied,” “Ben-Hur,” and “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows.” The studio has scored with the Oscar-nominated “Fences” and “Arrival,” but is trying to exhibit greater consistency on the big screen. That’s seen as critical for the longterm survival of studio chief Brad Grey. He managed to make it through the ouster of Philippe Dauman, the head of Paramount’s parent company Viacom and a one-time ally, but Grey must prove that he has the vision needed to restore the studio’s luster.

    The weekend’s other new wide-release, STX Entertainment’s “The Space Between Us,” bombed, eking out $3.8 million. That’s far less than the $8 million to $10 million that the studio projected the film would earn in its debut. The science-fiction romance was picked up from Relativity Media after that company fell into bankruptcy. It centers on an intra-planetary relationship that forms between a young man who lives on Mars (Asa Butterfield) and a girl from Earth (Britt Robertson) who captures his heart. STX Entertainment is a relative newcomer to Hollywood, having launched in 2014 with backing from the likes of the venture capital firm TPG and the private equity player Hony Capital. The studio has struggled at times, scoring with “Bad Moms” and “The Gift,” but falling flat with “Free State of Jones,” “Hardcore Henry,” and “The Edge of Seventeen.” “The Space Between Us” cost $30 million to produce — STX says it limited its financial exposure with foreign pre-sales, tax credits, and by taking on outside investors.

    “While we were hoping for more, we are proud of the film and the way we managed it creatively and financially,” a spokesman for STX said in a statement to Variety.

    “A Dog’s Purpose,” a family film from Universal, Amblin Entertainment, and Walden Media, nabbed third place, grossing $10.8 million to push its domestic total to $32.9 million. The film was nearly derailed after video surfaced showing a skittish German Shepherd being forced by members of the crew into rushing water. Universal later claimed that the video was heavily edited. Despite the controversy, “A Dog’s Purpose” has performed well at the box office.

    Fox’s “Hidden Figures” took fourth place, continuing its torrid run at the box office. The drama about African-American NASA employees earned $10.1 million, bringing its domestic earnings to a sizable $119.4 million. “Hidden Figures” is also factoring into the Oscar race, having recently earned a best picture nomination.

    “La La Land,” the musical expected to dominate this year’s Academy Awards, rounded out the top five, adding $7.4 million to push its domestic results to more than $118 million. The film picked up another honor this weekend, as Damien Chazelle, the 32-year-old wunderkind who wrote and directed “La La Land,” won the Director’s Guild Award.

    In limited release, “The Comedian,” a critically maligned dramedy with Robert De Niro, struggled to make much of an impression, grossing $1.1 million on 848 screens. Sony Pictures Classics is distributing the film.

    Magnolia’s “I Am Not Your Negro” fared better, grossing $709,500 on 43 screens. The look at essayist and novelist James Baldwin is competing for an Oscar in the best documentary category.

    Overall ticket sales topped out at $100 million, a 4.7% jump from the year-ago period when “Kung Fu Panda 3” topped charts. The domestic box office is trailing 2016’s results, but analysts believe that those fortunes will be reversed when “Fifty Shades Darker,” “Beauty and the Beast,” and “Logan” debut in the coming weeks.

    “We’re not exactly off to a rousing start, but I still think this year will be a record breaker,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at ComScore. “It’s just a late bloomer.”

  • Box Office: ‘Split’ Tops ‘Dog’s Purpose’ With $26 Million

    By Brett Lang

    LOS ANGELES, Jan 29 (Variety.com) – Despite the TMZ videos and boycott threats, “A Dog’s Purpose” still managed to pull in family audiences, who apparently shook off or were unmoved by footage of a cowering German Shepherd being forced into rushing water.

    The story of a dog who gets reincarnated, living through and playing “man’s best friend” to multiple masters, brought in $18.4 million in its opening weekend. That’s in line with other films for animal-lovers, such as “Eight Below” ($20.1 million) and “Dolphin Tale” ($19.1 million), neither one of which raised the ire of PETA. Universal and Amblin partnered on “Dog’s Purpose.” It has a $22 million production budget.

    It’s a solid opening, one that suggests that the companies were successful in containing the wave of bad publicity that threatened the film’s release. After TMZ released the video, director Lasse Hallstrom, producer Gavin Polone, and various cast members expressed their outrage and placed most of the blame on the film’s second-unit production team or argued that the video was manipulated. Universal cancelled the film’s premiere. The protest threats and viral video did take a bite out of the grosses — tracking two weeks ago suggested the film would open to as much as $24 million — but the public relations headaches weren’t fatal.

    “What happened did hurt the box office,” said Jeff Bock, an analyst with Exhibitor Relations. “I think 25 million was easily in reach before the controversy. It could hurt it in the long run. I don’t think it will sustain itself like a family film usually does.”

    Blumhouse and Univeral’s “Split” managed to hold on to the top spot for the second straight weekend, earning $26.3 million. The low-budget thriller film has earned $78 million domestically, and marks a return to form for M. Night Shyamalan.

    The director of “The Sixth Sense” has reinvented himself in recent years by working with producer Jason Blum. Once white-hot, his star dimmed with bombs such as “The Lady in the Water” and “After Earth.” However, “The Visit,” another Blumhouse hit he directed, and now “Split,” have restored some of Shyamalan’s luster.
    Sony’s “Resident Evil: The Final Chapter” debuted to $13.8 million for a fourth place finish. The latest installment in the video game franchise has earned nearly $80 million worldwide. Sony worldwide marketing and distribution chief Josh Greenstein said the stateside opening was in line with the studio’s expectations and noted that the “Resident Evil” series tends to play better abroad. The previous two films made more than 80% of their grosses from foreign territories.

    “‘Resident Evil’ is built for an international audience,” he said, adding, “This is a perfect example of looking at a film as a global film and not as a U.S.-centric one.”

    It’s also in line with what Sony chief Tom Rothman has tried to emphasize since taking over at the studio in 2015. Under Rothman, Sony has built up its local language division, creating more films targeted at foreign audiences, while emphasizing pictures like “Blade Runner 2” and “Spider-Man: Homecoming” that are for the global marketplace. With the weekend’s grosses, the “Resident Evil” series has now cruised past the $1 billion mark to become the biggest video game based franchise in history.

    Fox’s “Hidden Figures” continued to pull in crowds, adding $14 million to its gross to push its domestic total to $104 million. The drama about African-American scientists in the early days of the space program was nominated for a Best Picture Academy Award this week.

    “La La Land” capitalized on its 14 Oscar nominations to the tune of $12 million. That pushes the movie musical’s domestic haul to more than $106 million. Lionsgate expanded the number of theaters that “La La Land” was playing in after it received all the awards love.

    The Weinstein Company’s “Gold” collapsed at the box office, eking out $3.5 million to be the worst wide-release opening of Matthew McConaughey‘s career.

  • Box Office: ‘Split’ Crushes Vin Diesel’s ‘xXx: Return of Xander Cage’

    By Dave McNary

    LOS ANGELES, Jan 22 (Variety.com) – M. Night Shyamalan‘s “Split” has turned into a horror hit with a surprisingly strong $40.2 million in its opening weekend at 3,038 North American locations.

    “Split,” starring James McAvoy as a man with 24 different personalities, performed far above recent expectations for Universal and Blumhouse. It easily topped the 2015 launch of Shyamalan’s found-footage horror movie “The Visit,” which scored an opening weekend of $25.4 million.

    Vin Diesel‘s launch of “xXx: Return of Xander Cage” is heading for a second-place finish for Paramount with about $20 million at 3,651 sites — in line with recent forecasts. Fox’s historical drama “Hidden Figures” maintained its impressive performance in third with $16.3 million at 3,416 theaters for a domestic total of $84.2 million.

    Michael Keaton‘s biopic “The Founder” showed little traction for The Weinstein Company with a modest $3.8 million weekend at 1,115 locations.

    Shyamalan produced and directed “Split” from his own script in which McAvoy’s mutiple characters capture three young women and hold them hostage. The movie, which costs under $10 million, generated the third-highest opening for a Shyamalan title following “Signs” with $60 million and “The Village” with $50.7 million.

    “Split” carries a 76% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with McAvoy’s performance receiving strong reviews. Shyamalan is self-financing the project and re-teamed with horror specialist Jason Blum and his Blumhouse Productions after collaborating on “The Visit,” which grossed nearly $100 million worldwide on a $5 million budget.

    “Xander Cage” stars Diesel as a skilled government operative character who debuted in the 2002 movie “xXx.” The film also stars Samuel L. Jackson, Donnie Yen, Deepika Padukone, Ruby Rose, Kris Wu, and Nina Dobrev.

    D.J. Caruso directs from a script by F. Scott Frazier, which centers on Diesel’s Xander Cage coming out of self-imposed exile in a race to recover a seemingly unstoppable weapon known as Pandora’s Box.

    “Xander Cage” has an $85 million budget with backing from Chinese companies Huahua Media and Shanghai Film Group, which limits Paramount’s exposure to about 50%. Paramount and the two companies announced a three-year $1 billion co-financing deal on Thursday.

  • Box Office: ‘Hidden Figures’ Prevails as ‘Monster Trucks,’ ‘Live by Night’ Bomb

    Box Office: 'Hidden Figures' Prevails as 'Monster Trucks,' Ben Affleck's 'Live by Night' BombBy Brent Lang

    LOS ANGELES, Jan 15 (Variety.com) – It’s bombs away at the multiplexes.

    Family film “Monster Trucks” tanked when it debuted over the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, while Ben Affleck‘s “Live by Night” and Martin Scorsese‘s “Silence” suffered moribund national expansions. Their failures will lead to tens of millions of dollars in red ink for the studios that backed them. “Sleepless,” an action-thriller with Jamie Foxx, also suffered an underwhelming opening, getting lost in the onslaught of new releases.

    “There’s almost an unprecedented number of films out there,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at comScore. “It’s got to be somewhat daunting and overwhelming for moviegoers.”

    Amidst the carnage, Fox and Chernin Entertainment’s”Hidden Figures” retained its box office crown in its second weekend of wide release, earning $20.5 million for the weekend and a projected $25.3 million for the long weekend. That will push its total to $59.7 million. The historical drama about African-American NASA workers during the early days of the space program has been one of the biggest breakouts of awards season.

    “Hidden Figures” faced stiff competition from Lionsgate’s “La La Land,” riding high after sweeping the Golden Globe Awards, and STX’s “The Bye Bye Man,” which earned $14.5 million and $13.4 million, respectively. “La La Land” is widely expected to dominate the Oscar nominations. The musical about lovestruck Angelenos should finish the four-day weekend with another $17.5 million in domestic receipts, which would bring its stateside total to more than $77 million.

    “The Bye Bye Man’s” strong reception is welcome news for STX, which had expected the film to open to roughly $10 million. The horror movie about college students grappling with a deadly supernatural figure cost less than $8 million to produce. It should make $15 million over the four-day holiday. Studio executives said they weren’t afraid of the crush of new releases heading into the weekend, because they felt they were the only film targeted to younger females. STX also wanted to release the picture on Friday the 13th, a marketing hook for scary movies.

    “We knew we were going to be able to get that core audience of females,” said Kevin Grayson, STX’s domestic distribution president. “Not only did they go on Friday, they continued to go all weekend.”

    Heading into the weekend, most analysts expected CBS Films and Lionsgate’s “Patriots Day” to put up more of a fight. The drama about the Boston Marathon Bombing earned $12 million after moving from seven theaters to 3,120 locations. It could make $14.3 million over the four-day stretch. That’s below projections — analysts expected the film to earn as much as $18 million. However, the studios believe that “Patriots Day” could benefit from enthusiastic word-of-mouth. Audiences gave the film a rare A+ CinemaScore.

    “Monster Trucks’” failure seemed preordained. Last year, Paramount took a $115 million write-down on the film. “Monster Trucks’” reception justified that fiscal white-flag waving. It opened to a pallid $10.5 million and a projected $14.1 million over the holiday, a disastrous result given its $125 million budget.

    “The movie works for the audience it’s intended to work for,” said Megan Colligan, Paramount’s marketing and distribution head. “It did really well in the midwest and south. It was over 50 percent kids. The balance was good between boys and girls…without a whole lot of competition, it will keep plugging along.”

    Paramount has hit a rough patch. The studio was embroiled in a corporate power struggle that pitted the controlling Redstone family against Philippe Dauman, the former chairman of Paramount’s parent company Viacom. The Redstones ultimately prevailed, but the pressure is now on Paramount chief Brad Grey to prove he can deliver more hits. The studio scored with “Fences” and “Arrival,” but lost millions on the likes of “Allied,” “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows,” and “Ben-Hur.”

    “Live by Night’s” troubles will hit Affleck hard. He directed, produced, and wrote the Dennis LeHane adaptation, and took a starring role as a charismatic rum runner. Warner Bros. is releasing the $65 million production. It earned a sallow $5.4 million and should end the four-day holiday with just over $6 million, which more or less leaves the gangster picture on the slab. Affleck should be on firmer commercial ground reprising his Dark Knight role in “Justice League” later this year.

    Open Road’s “Sleepless” didn’t fare too well either, although it cost significantly less than “Live by Night” and “Monster Trucks.” The $30 million production stars Foxx as a morally compromised cop whose extracurricular activities endanger his son. It kicked off with a meager $8.5 million and should end the long weekend with $10.1 million in the till. The studio says that “Sleepless” will make its way into the black because Open Road covered its financial exposure by selling foreign distribution rights and through tax rebates.

    “Given our economics, this $10 million opening on ‘Sleepless’ will certainly become profitable for Open Road,” said a spokeswoman.

    Then there’s “Silence,” a decades-in-the-making religious drama. Scorsese struggled for years to cobble together the financing for this story about Jesuit priests who risk torture and death to spread the gospel in feudal Japan, but audiences seemed to have little appetite for his rumination on faith. “Silence” expanded from 51 theaters to 747 locations, earning just over $2 million for the long weekend. The $50 million film was financed independently. Paramount is distributing the picture.

    “Marty Scorsese is one of the greatest living filmmakers,” said Colligan. “He’s earned the right to independently finance a movie and make the movie he wants to make. This is a complicated, beautiful film, one that movie critics have named the best of the year and one that will be taught in film schools for years. It needs to be judged on its merits.”

    Holdovers “Sing” and “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” continued to show strength, with both films earning roughly $13.8 million. “Sing,” the latest collaboration between the “Despicable Me” team of Universal and Illumination, has earned $237.2 million stateside. “Rogue One” is now the top-grossing 2016 release with more than $500 million in receipts. It will cross the $1 billion mark at the global box office this week.

  • Box Office: ‘Hidden Figures’ and ‘Rogue One’ in Tight Race for Top Spot

    By Dave McNary

    LOS ANGELES, Jan 8 (Variety.com) – “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” edged “Hidden Figures” in the race for the top spot at the North American box office with an estimated $22 million at 4,175 locations, estimates showed Sunday.

    “Hidden Figures,” a comedy-drama about pioneering African-American women in the early days of the American space program, trailed by only $200,000 with $21.8 million at 2,471 sites. So the positions could reverse when final figures for weekend are released Monday.

    It was the fourth consecutive weekend victory for “Rogue One,” which has lifted its domestic total to $477.3 million. The eighth “Star Wars” movie is now the eighth-largest domestic grosser of all time, trailing “Finding Dory” by less than $10 million.

    “Rogue One” also launched in China with $31 million in its first weekend, pushing the international total to $437 million. Its worldwide box office has hit $914.4 million in less than a month.

    Illumination-Universal’s “Sing” was headed for a close third with $19.6 million at 3,955 sites. Sony’s opening of “Underworld: Blood Wars” is looking at a fourth-place finish with $13.1 million at 3,070 locations, followed by Lionsgate’s expansion of awards contender “La La Land” with $10 million at 1,515 venues.

    “Hidden Figures” is performing far above recent forecasts, which had ranged between $16 million and $18 million. Taraji P. Henson stars as Katherine Johnson, an African-American mathematician who, along with her colleagues Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer) and Mary Jackson (Janelle Monae), helps launch astronaut John Glenn into space.

    The awards-season contender has a modest $25 million budget. Spencer is up for a Golden Globe in the supporting actress category on Sunday.

  • Box Office: ‘Rogue One’ Kicks Off the New Year With $400 Million

    By Brent Lang

    LOS ANGELES, Jan 1 (Variety.com) – “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” and “Sing” loomed large at the multiplexes over the New Year’s holiday, racking up the biggest grosses and ringing out 2016 on a high note.

    The Star Wars spinoff topped the box office for the third consecutive weekend, earning just under $50 million for the three-day period and a projected $64 million for the four-day holiday. The movie business is tacking Monday on to New Year’s weekend, because many companies and schools are observing it as a national holiday. The weekend gross pushes the space opera over the $400 million mark domestically. It currently ranks as the year’s second highest-grossing domestic release, with $425 million, behind only “Finding Dory.” “Rogue One” concludes a record-annihilating year for Disney. The studio became the first to top $7 billion in a single year, has fielded four of the five top grossing domestic releases, and should see four of its movies top $1 billion at the global box office.

    “Sing,” the latest collaboration between Illumination and Universal, racked up $41.4 million during its second weekend in theaters. It is projected to earn $53.7 million for the four-day holiday weekend and has made $177.3 million stateside. It’s the second smash of 2016 for Illumination, the maker of “Despicable Me.” The company also scored with last summer’s “The Secret Life of Pets.”

    In third place “Passengers,” a critically derided science fiction romance with Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence, earned $16.1 million over the three-day weekend and $20.7 million over the four day. As of Sunday, its domestic haul stands at $61.4 million. With a $110 million budget and millions more spent in promotion, “Passengers” will need a lift from foreign audiences if it hopes to make money.

    The same is true for Fox’s “Assassin’s Creed,” which took in $8 million for the weekend and a projected $10 million for the holiday. The video game adaptation has earned $41 million since opening over Christmas — a dispiriting result given its hefty $125 million budget. Movies made from games are a mixed bag. For every hit like “Mortal Combat” or “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider,” there are a slew of duds such as “Warcraft” and “Prince of Persia.”

    Fox is having more luck with “Why Him?” The R-rated comedy earned $10 million over the three day period and an estimated $13 million for the four day holiday. The film about the rivalry between a father (Bryan Cranston) and his daughter’s fiancee (James Franco) has earned $37.6 million and cost an economical $38 million to produce.

    Paramount’s “Fences,” expanded nicely. Denzel Washington directs and stars in the August Wilson adaptation, with Viola Davis playing a key supporting role. The drama earned $10.2 million over the three-day weekend and an estimated $13 million for the holiday. It has made $32.7 million since debuting three weeks ago in limited release.

    Lionsgate’s “La La Land,” continued to capitalize on awards buzz. The musical earned $9.5 million over the weekend and is projected to make $12.3 million over the four-day holiday, which would bring its gross to an estimated $37 million. On Friday, “La La Land” passed “Hell or High Water” to become the highest-grossing movie in limited release for the year.

    Fox’s “Hidden Figures” looks strong. The drama about the African-American scientists and mathematicians who played a pivotal role in the early days of America’s space program, earned $815,000 for the three days and $1.1 million for the four days from just 25 theaters. It goes into wide release next weekend.

    “20th Century Women” and “Paterson” were released just under the wire in order to qualify for Oscars. “20th Century Women,” a comedy-drama that’s earned some of the best reviews of Annette Bening‘s career, earned $112,705 for the weekend. A24 is handling the rollout. “Patterson,” a drama about a poetic bus driver, made $70,760. It is being released by Amazon Studios and Bleecker Street.