Globally, the film has earned $290.5 million, after touching
down in nearly every major foreign market save for China and
South Korea.
Disney, which shelled out $4 billion to buy "Star Wars" creator
LucasFilm in 2012, had been trying to downplay expectations for
"Rogue One." Executives noted that the film is the first "Star
Wars" movie to exist outside of the main Skywalker clan
storyline. It's also a darker, war-themed tale; one that has an
unusually high body count for a popcorn flick.
But the "Star Wars" pedigree proved irresistible to audiences,
and the film seems positioned to play well through the holidays.
Disney is planning to do more "Rogue One"-style spinoffs. The
company is already working on a film about the early years of
Han Solo that will star Alden Ehrenreich.
Most studios steered clear of "Rogue One," but Warner Bros. and
New Line offered up "Collateral Beauty" as counter-programming
for audiences unmoved by tales of Jedi warriors. The drama about
a grieving ad executive (Will Smith) was savaged by critics, and
only managed to eke out a paltry $7 million debut for a fourth
place finish. That's a rough start for the picture and continues
Smith's bumpy period at the box office.
The actor scored with last summer's "Suicide Squad," but struck
out with the likes of "Focus," "After Earth," and "Concussion."
"Collateral Beauty" cost $36 million to produce. Village
Roadshow also backed the picture. The opening weekend crowd
skewed female and older, with women comprising 59% of the
audience and 58% of ticket buyers clocking in over the age of
35.
Jeff Goldstein, Warner Bros. domestic distribution president,
acknowledged that the poor reviews hurt the film, but stressed
that its A-minus CinemaScore indicated that audiences were
enjoying "Collateral Beauty."
"I'm disappointed," he said. "But the film plays well with an
older audience, and we hope that over Christmas, they'll have
more free time available to go out and discover it."
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Disney's "Moana" snagged second place, picking up $11.7 million and
pushing its stateside gross to $161.9 million. Paramount's "Office
Christmas Party" nabbed third, earning $8.4 million and bringing the
raunchy comedy's total to $31.5 million after two weeks of release.
"Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" rounded out the top five,
picking up $5 million to push the Harry Potter spinoff's domestic
total to $207.7 million.
Oscar-frontrunner "La La Land" performed nicely in its expansion.
The acclaimed musical picked up $4 million after moving from five to
200 theaters. That brings its total to $5.3 million. Lionsgate is
backing the film, which stars Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone as two
Angelenos in love.
Amazon and Roadside's "Manchester by the Sea" capitalized on a slew
of Golden Globes and Screen Actors Guild Awards nominations, adding
$4.2 million to its $14 million haul while moving from 356 to 1,200
theaters.
In limited release, "Fences" picked up $128,000 in two theaters.
Paramount is backing the adaptation of the August Wilson play, with
Denzel Washington directing the film and co-starring opposite Viola
Davis. It cost just over $20 million to make.
"Rogue One" galvanized the box office, but overall ticket sales
still fell sharply. That's because of tough comparisons. Last year,
this period hosted "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," which shattered
records when it opened to $248 million.
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