The Christmas box office is always interesting because it’s really the start of a potential long road for significant grosses until after the new year. Christmas day is essentially the start of the long weekend for most films but releasing before the big holiday is usually a nice head start for even mediocre films that get a boost from people feeling the holiday spirit.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story continued its box office dominance with a three day gross of $64.3 million and an estimated four day gross of $95 to $97 million. Since Christmas Eve fell on a Saturday this year all the films at the box office saw significant dips but most rebounded in a big way on Christmas day and Rogue One was no exception. Depending on the official Christmas day total, Rogue One now has a gross of $311 to $319 million and will continue to rule the box office well into the new year.
Debuting in a strong second is Sing with a three day gross of $35.2 million and a four day gross of $56 to $57 million. The film has grossed a solid $77 million since opening last Wednesday and looks like it’s really catching on with families. Out of all the new releases that opened last Wednesday, Sing is the one true success story and it should continue to play well as we head into 2017.
Opening in a rather disappointing third place is Passengers with $14.8 million over three days and $23 million over four days. The film has grossed an estimated $29 to $30 million since opening last Wednesday but the studio had this tracking at $30 to $40 million over the same period. It’s a bit behind what expectations have been saying and it’s hard to tell what word of mouth has been. Reviews were a bit tepid and since Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence are big box office draws, the opening is a bit on the soft side. The film has a $110 million budget and it’s too early to tell where this one will go since holiday box office is very unpredictable but as of now, the performance is lacking a bit.
Opening in fourth is Why Him? with $11 million. The estimated four day gross has this at $15-16 million which isn’t a bad start for the new comedy. The budget is $38 million so this may turn a profit if it can post some solid grosses over the holiday. It won’t be a huge but it won’t be a disaster either.
Rounding out the top five is a disappointing finish for Assassins Creed which grossed $10.2 million over three days and $15 million over four days. It has grossed an estimated $22.6 million since opening on Wednesday which is a bad start for a film that cost $120 million to make. Holiday box office is known for bailing out failing films but this one may be beyond saving since it hasn’t gained much traction since opening last Wednesday.
Christmas day saw the successful expansion for tow Oscar contenders with Fences leading the pack in seventh place with $6.6 million on Christmas day and La La Land landing in eighth place with $5.7 million. The latter film sees further expansion on January 6 but this is a solid expansion for both films as we close out 2016.
Check out the full top ten below:
December 23-25
- Rogue One: A Star Wars Story – $64.3 million
- Sing – $35.2 million
- Passengers – $14.8 million
- Why Him? – $11 million
- Assassins Creed– $10.2 million
- Moana– $7.4 million
- Fences– $6.6 million
- La La Land – $5.7 million
- Office Christmas Party – $5.1 million
- Collateral Beauty – $4.2 million
