Weekend Box Office Report: December 16-18, 2016

Last Updated on July 31, 2021

Rogue One storms the box office!

The Rebellion challenged the Empire this weekend with impressive results, putting ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY on top with an estimated opening of $155 million!

The direct prequel to the original STAR WARS (aka A NEW HOPE) didn't soar to the record-demolishing heights of last December's STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS, which opened with $247 million. But it obliterated the $108 million start of previous prequel STAR WARS: EPISODE III – REVENGE OF THE SITH in 2005.

ROGUE ONE's opening is also the third-biggest of 2016, behind only CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR ($179 million) and BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE ($166 million).

The galactic "Dirty Dozen"-style STAR WARS mission from director Gareth Edwards (GODZILLA) cost a reported $200 million to make, and captured an additional $135 million from international audiences for a worldwide opening of $290 million.

Most critics got caught up in the first of the standalone STAR WARS series, giving ROGUE ONE an 84% average on Rotten Tomatoes. You can check out Eric's JoBlo review HERE and Chris's HERE.

As for the releases that did not feature Stormtroopers getting blasted, Disney's princess MOANA stepped down to second place with $11.6 million after sitting on the box office throne for three straight weekends. The animated adventure now has a worldwide total of $280.2 million.

The R-rated comedy OFFICE CHRISTMAS PARTY celebrated in third place with $8.4 million, retaining 50% of its holiday spirit after a second-place debut last weekend for a domestic total of $31.5 million.

Opening in fourth place was Will Smith's new holiday movie COLLATERAL BEAUTY with $7 million. This marks the lowest opening for a Smith starring vehicle behind the $10.5 million start of last Christmas's CONCUSSION, and the furthest possible end of the spectrum from the huge $133 million August opening of SUICIDE SQUAD, which is the actor's biggest domestic success.

Despite a talented supporting cast that includes Helen Mirren, Ed Norton, Keira Knightley and Kate Winslet, the PG-13 melodrama (which cost a reported $36 million) didn't have much emotional impact on critics, who gave it a 14% average on Rotten Tomatoes. You can read the JoBlo review HERE.

FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM was in fifth place with $5 million. The Harry Potter spinoff has collected more than half a billion from overseas crowds to bring its worldwide total to $717 million.

The acclaimed drama MANCHESTER BY THE SEA, which has drawn award nominations for stars Casey Affleck and Michelle Williams, rolled out onto 1200 screens and jumped to sixth place with $4.1 million for a domestic total of $14 million.

After an outstanding limited-release debut last weekend, the Ryan Gosling/Emma Stone musical romance LA LA LAND expanded onto 200 screens and danced into seventh place with $4 million, giving it the second-best per-screen average in the Top 10 behind the looming menace of the Death Star.

Toward the bottom, the sci-fi thriller ARRIVAL was in eighth place with $2.7 million on its sixth weekend in release. Marvel's DOCTOR STRANGE followed in ninth with $2 million, and the Jake Gyllenhaal/Amy Adams drama NOCTURNAL ANIMALS closed out the list.

Outside the chart, the Brad Pitt/Marion Cotillard spy adventure ALLIED retreated along with TROLLS and Mel Gibson's HACKSAW RIDGE. In limited release, Denzel Washington's acting/directing effort FENCES started out with a decent $32k per-screen average before it expands next week.

Meanwhile, the Matt Damon monster-fighting Asian adventure THE GREAT WALL (from HERO and HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS director Zhang Yimou) opened in China to a monumental $67 million. The $150 million action epic, which also features Willem Dafoe, Pedro Pascal and Hong Kong star Andy Lau, won't reach North American theaters until February 17.

Next week has a few Wednesday releases that include the Michael Fassbender videogame adaptation ASSASSIN'S CREED, the Jennifer Lawrence/Chris Pratt sci-fi journey PASSENGERS and the animated animals of SING, and Friday brings the R-rated Bryan Cranston/James Franco comedy WHY HIM?.

Limited releases include Mark Wahlberg and Peter Berg's account of the Boston Marathon bombing in PATRIOT'S DAY, Martin Scorsese's religious drama SILENCE and the Liam Neeson tree fantasy A MONSTER CALLS.

Where would you rank ROGUE ONE in the STAR WARS movie series? VOTE HERE!