In what will surely be the last sub-par weekend of the year, with the release ofRogue One: A Star Wars Storyset to breathe new life into the box office on December 16,Moanamanaged to come out on top for the third weekend in a row. Only one new release hit theaters this weekend, the outrageous R-rated comedyOffice Christmas Party, but it couldn’t manage to top the currentbox office champ, Disney’sMoana, which won for the third week in a row with $18.8 million. It was expected thatOffice Christmas Partywouldn’t be too far behind, which was an accurate prediction, with the comedy coming in second place with $17.5 million in second place.
Between December 16 and Christmas Day, seven new movies hit theaters in wide release,Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,Collateral Beauty,Assassin’s Creed,Sing,Passengers,Why Him?andFences. Between the upcoming December 9 frame and last weekend, only two new movies arrive in wide releae,Incarnate, which opened in ninth place with $2.6 million and this weekend’s sole newcomer, theholiday comedyfrom Paramount,Office Christmas Party. This weekend will also see an expansion into roughly 1,600 theaters forMiss Sloane, which opened over Thanksgiving in limited release, but it failed to crack the top 10, taking 11th place with $1.9 million from 1,648 theaters, for a paltry $1,153 per-screen average. Two more expanding films did make the top 10 though, withNocturnal AnimalsandManchester-by-the-Seafaring well, whileLa La Landset a new box office record in limited release.
Box Office Mojoreports that theR-ratedcomedyOffice Christmas Partyopened in 3,210 theaters with a decent $5,452 per-screen average. It was estimated that the comedy would only open in 2,800 theaters, which is still far less thanMoana’s 3,875 rollout.Moanadropped almost exactly half of its $56.6 million opening weekend tally last weekend, by coming out on top with $28.2 million, but this weekend, it only dropped 33.4%, with a solid $4,862 per-screen average from 3,875 theaters.Office Christmas Partyonly cost $45 million to produce, so it will likely fare well throughout its run, barring a steep drop next weekend.
Moanahas taken in $145 million domestically through its first thrree weekends in theaters, although it hasn’t fared quite as well internationally. The film has only earned $93.8 million in foreign markets for a worldwide total of $238.8 million.Moanais set in the ancient South Pacific world of Oceania, where a born navigator, sets sail in search of a fabled island. During her incredible journey, she teams up with her hero, the legendary demi-god Maui, to traverse the open ocean on an action-packed voyage, encountering enormous sea creatures, breathtaking underworlds and ancient folklore.Dwayne Johnsonleads the voice cast as Maui, with newcomerAuli’i Cravalhovoicing the title character. The supporting voice cast is rounded out byAlan Tudykas Heihei,Nicole Scherzingeras Sina andJemaine Clementas Tamatoa.
InOffice Christmas Party, when the CEO (Jennifer Aniston) tries to close her hard-partying brother’s branch, he (T.J. Miller) and his Chief Technical Officer (Jason Bateman) must rally their co-workers and host an epic office Christmas party in an effort to impress a potential client and close a sale that will save their jobs. The latest comedy from directorsJosh GordonandWill Speck(Blades of Glory) co-starsKate McKinnon,Olivia Munn,Jillian Bell,Rob Corddry,Vanessa Bayer,Randall Park,Sam Richardson,Jamie Chung, andCourtney B. Vancein the funniest movie of the holiday season.
Miss Sloaneis set in the high-stakes world of political power-brokers, Elizabeth Sloane (Jessica Chastain) is the most sought after and formidable lobbyist in D.C. Known equally for her cunning and her track record of success, she has always done whatever is required to win. But when she takes on the most powerful opponent of her career, she finds that winning may come at too high a price.
The rest of the top 10 is rounded out byFantastic Beasts and Where to Find Themin third place with $10.7 million,Arrivalin fourth place with $5.6 million andDoctor Strangerounding out the top 5 with $4.6 million. The top 10 will be rounded out byAllied($4 million),Nocturnal Animals($3.19 million)Manchester-by-the-Sea($3.15 million),Trolls($3.11 million) andHacksaw Ridge($2.3 million). In a weekend that didn’t make too many waves among wide releases, a limited-release musical may have been the real big winner.
Lionsgate debutd critically-acclaimed musicalLa La Land, starringEmma StoneandRyan Gosling, in just five theaters, but it came in 15th place with an astounding $855,000, for an incredible $171,000 per-screen average, the best per-screen average of the year. This musical bestedMoonlight, whose $100,519 per-screen average in October was previously the best this year. The film will expand to 200 theaters in 40 markets next weekend, with a further expansion set for Christmas Day. No box ofice data was released for Magnolia’s documentaryHarry Benson: Shoot First, Screen Media’s thrillerSugar Mountain, Viva Pictures Distribution’s romantic comedyThe Bounce Backand Yash Raj’s dramaBekfire.The Bounce Backis actually opening in roughly 600 theaters, but that won’t likely be enough to have it crack the top 10.
Looking ahead to next weekend, the crowded holiday frame gets started with the highly-anticipatedStar Warsspin-offRogue One: A Star Wars Story, which opens against Warner Bros.‘Collateral Beauty, withWill Smithleading an ensemble cast includingEdward Norton,Helen Mirrenand more. Paramount will also debutFences, starringDenzel WashingtonandViola Davisin New York and Los Angeles before expanding nationwide on Christmas Day. Also opening in limited release is The Orchard’sNeruda, Indican’sThe Grace of Jake, Independent’sHollow Pointand Lionsgate Premiere’sSolace. Take a look at our projected top 10 for the weekend of December 9.
