Sing' Scores Over the Holidays -- WSJ
December 27 2016 - 3:02AM
Dow Jones News
By Erich Schwartzel
Several new arrivals couldn't knock "Rogue One: A Star Wars
Story" out of orbit at the holiday box office.
The Walt Disney Co. spinoff collected an estimated $96 million
in the U.S. and Canada over the four-day weekend, bringing its
two-week total to a hit $318 million. International grosses take
the movie's world-wide total to $523.8 million.
The strength of "Rogue One" helped the North American box office
pass the $11 billion mark for 2016 on Monday, according to
comScore, which is projecting the industry to end the year at a
record-setting $11.3 billion, a 1.5% increase from 2015.
Of the new arrivals aimed at Christmastime moviegoers, the
animated comedy "Sing" performed the best. The latest feature from
"Minions" producer Illumination Entertainment collected $56.1
million over the four-day weekend, and had a six-day total of $76.7
million.
Illumination has another potential hit on its hands, coming five
months after its last release, "The Secret Life of Pets," collected
$368 million in the U.S. and Canada. "Sing" had a budget of about
$75 million.
"It's an excellent start," said Nick Carpou, president of
domestic distribution at Comcast Corp.'s Universal Pictures, which
distributes Illumination features.
"Passengers," a space drama released by Sony Corp.'s Columbia
Pictures and starring Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence, came in a
bit below expectations with a six-day gross of $30.4 million. But
the movie saw a surge in attendance from Christmas Eve to Christmas
Day of about 164%, said Josh Greenstein, Sony's president of
world-wide marketing and distribution. It was an increase he
attributed to adults who spent the previous week preparing for the
holidays finally having the time to head to the movies.
The "Passengers" opening would normally be low given its net
budget of $110 million, but the week between Christmas and New
Year's often sees grosses come in like a typical weekend, thanks to
vacations from school and work. Movies released over Christmas
weekend often perform much stronger in subsequent weeks than summer
releases, which can arrive with big numbers before attendance
falls.
"We're just getting started," said Mr. Greenstein.
Two new arrivals from Twentieth Century Fox didn't fare as well.
"Why Him?", a family-relations comedy starring Bryan Cranston and
James Franco, collected a healthy $16.7 million since opening
Friday.
The studio's videogame adaptation "Assassin's Creed"
disappointed with $22.5 million over the six days, a paltry showing
for a movie that cost $125 million to produce and arrived with a
built-in fan base. Fox's parent company, 21st Century Fox, and News
Corp, owner of The Wall Street Journal, share common ownership.
"Fences," a film adaptation of the August Wilson play starring
Denzel Washington and Viola Davis andreleased by Viacom Inc.'s
Paramount Pictures, collected a soft $11.4 million over the
four-day weekend. The drama is generating awards buzz for its lead
performers, which could help sustain interest, and its debut is
aided by the movie's modest budget of about $20 million.
Several other awards contenders hit theaters in limited release,
while one of the front-runners for the Academy Award for best
picture, "La La Land," expanded to about 730 locations. The musical
starring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone has collected $17.6 million so
far.
Write to Erich Schwartzel at erich.schwartzel@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 27, 2016 02:47 ET (07:47 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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