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Throughout the weekend, "The Force Awakens" was locked in a
pitched battle with "The Revenant" for first place, but as the
dust settled on Sunday, the "Star Wars" sequel had managed to
retain its crown for the fourth straight weekend, picking up
$41.6 million in receipts. That brings the space opera's
stateside haul to $812 million, making it the first film to ever
cross $800 million domestically.
"The Revenant" still had much to celebrate. The revenge drama
about a fur trapper whose quest for vengeance finds him braving
roaring rapids, dodging hostile Native American tribes, and
disemboweling a dead horse, became an unlikely box office
winner. The film, which is expected to land DiCaprio in the
Oscar race, pulled in a sterling $38 million in its wide release
debut.
Directed by Alejandro G. Inarritu, Fox bowed the bloody thriller
across 3,375 locations. The hugely complicated shoot was a
production nightmare, with the film's budget ballooning from $90
million to $135 million and the cast and crew being forced to
decamp from Canada to Argentina in search of snow. Despite the
challenges, the film exceeded projections, which had it opening
to around $20 million. The film drew an audience that was 57%
male and 73% over the age of 25.
"Quality prevails," said Chris Aronson, Fox's domestic
distribution chief. "This is a real, reality-based film drawn
from true events. It's a motion picture that was made in the
most arduous of circumstances and the end result is just a
fantastic achievement."
Combined with its grosses from the two weeks it spent in limited
release, "The Revenant" has now made $39.5 million.
Paramount's "Daddy's Home," a comedy about a step-father (Will
Ferrell) locked in a fierce battle with his wife's first husband
(Mark Wahlberg) for her kid's affections, took third place with
$15 million. It has made $116.3 million since debuting over
Christmas.
Focus Features opened thriller "The Forest," starring Natalie
Dormer and Taylor Kinney, in 2,451 locations, where it grossed
$13.1 million for a fourth place finish. The film centers on a
young American woman who travels to Japan to find her sister.
Universal's "Sisters" rounded out the top five, earning $7.2
million. The Amy Poehler and Tina Fey comedy about a pair of
siblings suffering from arrested development has racked up $73.9
million.
Quentin Tarantino's "The Hateful Eight" dropped a steep 60% from
its wide release bow despite adding 464 theaters. The
revisionist Western from the Weinstein Company picked up $6.4
million, bringing its total to $41.5 million.
Paramount's "The Big Short" made $6.3 million. The financial
crisis comedy with Brad Pitt, Ryan Gosling, Christian Bale, and
Steve Carell has earned $42.8 million.
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