Box office report: Rogue One threepeats, Passengers rises

It seems Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt can alter the trajectory of an ill-fated vessel in more ways than one.

In its second weekend in wide release, the pair’s sci-fi romance Passengers, which underperformed during its first go-round at the box office, climbed to an estimated $20.7 million over the holiday, bringing its total haul to just over $66 million. Meanwhile, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story holds firm atop the domestic chart for a third week in a row.

The Morten Tyldum-directed Passengers stumbled over the Christmas period, finishing its debut weekend with $15 million in ticket sales on a $110 million budget. The expensive blockbuster held steady throughout the week, however, powering up as the New Year’s holiday afforded many Americans an extra Monday off work.

With a four-day haul of $64.3 million, Gareth Edwards’prequel to A New Hope is closing in on Finding Dory‘s $486.3 million total — the highest gross of any film released in 2016. Rogue One should surpass that number by the end of the week. Disney, which distributed Rogue One, currently holds four spots on the list of top five domestic earners, capping a fantastic calendar year for the House of Mouse. In December, the studio became the first in history to cross the $7 billion mark at the global box office, while North American ticket sales set an all-time record in 2016, generating $11.4 billion through Dec. 31, besting 2015’s previous record of $11.14 billion.

Sandwiched between Rogue One and Passengers is Illumination and Universal’s animated musical Sing, which climbs roughly 60 percent over its sophomore four-day weekend in theaters, tallying $56.4 million for a total figure hovering around $180 million after just 13 days in theaters. The film has now made $277.8 million worldwide.

Rounding out the top five are holdover titles Moana ($14.3 million four-day) and Why Him? ($13 million four-day), with the latter surpassing modest expectations to post a two-week total a hair under its $38 million production budget.

Denzel Washington’s Fences entered its first full weekend on U.S. screens Friday, after enjoying a solid single-day $6.7 million on Christmas for a freshman weekend finish at No. 7. The film rises to No. 6 this week, making an estimated $12.7 million over the four-day stretch. Fellow awards contender La La Land jumps to No. 7 after adding 16 locations, bringing in an estimated $12.3 million over the holiday. Its domestic total now stands at a little over $37 million.

Manchester by the Sea adds an additional $5.5 million to its ballooning $29.7 million total to surpass Mud as Roadside Attractions’ highest-grossing movie of all time. The distributor ended 2016 with an estimated $75.7 million through Dec. 31. The releasing company notched its previous yearly best in 2013, when it made $44.8 million total.

Annette Bening’s 20th Century Women, which hit theaters on Dec. 28, premieres to a healthy $36,576 per-screen average at four theaters with Monday grosses included. Peter Berg’s Patriots Day makes an extra $200,000 from seven theaters, while Jim Jarmusch’s Paterson similarly earns $22,042 per theater over the same period.

Check out the Dec. 30-Jan. 2 box office estimates below.

1. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story – $49.5 million ($64.3 million four-day)
2. Sing – $42.8 million ($56.4 million four-day)
3. Passengers – $16.2 million ($20.7 million four-day)
4. Moana – $10.9 million ($14.3 million four-day)
5. Why Him? – $10.6 million ($13 million four-day)
6. Fences – $10 million ($12.7 million four-day)
7. La La Land – $9.5 million ($12.3 million four-day)
8. Assassin’s Creed – $8.6 million ($10.9 million four-day)
9. Manchester by the Sea – $4.2 million ($5.5 million four-day)
10. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them – $4.1 million ($5.4 million four-day)