HOLLYWOOD—Well, it was approximately 1 year ago that “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” stunned the box-office, so it should not have been a shock to many to see “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” dominate the theaters with an impressive $155 million plus haul. Yep, “Star Wars” is not only a fascination with many from the baby boomer generation, but also with millennials and newbies to the franchise alike.
The sci-fi adventure didn’t see much of a threat from competitors even though critical darling “La La Land” arrived in theaters, as well as the Will Smith dramedy “Collateral Beauty.” Unfortunately, for Mr. Smith his latest outing failed to impress audiences. The film which had been touted in the last few months as a potential awards contender performed to dismal numbers with a meek $7 million opening during the weekend to land in fourth place.
Disney’s “Moana” maintains its grip on the box-office adding another $11.7 million to its tally to land in second place. After a little over a month in theaters, the animated flick has earned over $160 million. Last week’s comedy top earner, “Office Christmas Party” nabbed third place with another $8.5 million to its total. Rounding out the top five was the fantasy film “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” with $5 million. The movie has officially crossed the $200 million mark at the box-office.
This weekend, sees a bevy of Oscar contenders arriving in theaters just in time for Christmas. It will be a battle royale between “Sing,” “Patriots Day,” “Fences,” “Passengers,” “Assassins Creed,” “Why Him?” and “Hidden Figures,” which will do battle for America’s attention over the Christmas holiday weekend. Who comes out on top, I could normally predict, but I think this is anyone’s game people.
