Rogue One Narrowly Beats Hidden Figures to Win the Weekend US Box Office
Disney-Lucasfilm's Rogue One A Star Wars Story edged Hidden Figures in the race for the top spot at the North American box office with an estimated 22 million at 4,175 locations, estimates showed Sunday. Hidden Figures, a comedy-drama about pioneering African-American women in the early days of the American space program, trailed by only 200,000 with 21.8 million at 2,471 sites. So the positions could reverse when final figures for weekend are released Monday. Snowy weather in the Eastern United States held down overall moviegoing during Friday and Saturday. It was the fourth consecutive weekend victory for Rogue One, which has lifted its domestic total to 477.3 million. The eighth Star Wars movie is now the eighth-largest domestic grosser of all time, trailing Finding Dory by less than 10 million. Rogue One also launched in China with 31 million in its first weekend, pushing the international total to 437 million. Its worldwide box office has hit 914.4 million in less than a month. Illumination-Universal's Sing was headed for a close third with 19.6 million at 3,955 sites. Sony's opening of Underworld Blood Wars is looking at a fourth-place finish with 13.1 million at 3,070 locations, followed by Lionsgate's expansion of awards contender La La Land with 10 million at 1,515 venues. Sony's sci-fi romance Passengers finished sixth with 8.8 million at 3,400 sites, bringing its total to 80.9 million after three weeks. Fox's third weekend of romantic comedy Why Him? followed with 6.5 million at 2,904 locations for a total of 49 million. Hidden Figures is performing well above recent forecasts, which had ranged between 16 million and 18 million. Taraji P. Henson stars as Katherine Johnson, an African-American mathematician who, along with her colleagues Dorothy Vaughan Octavia Spencer and Mary Jackson Janelle Monae, helps launch astronaut John Glenn into space. The awards-season contender has a modest 25 million budget. Spencer is up for a Golden Globe in the supporting actress category on Sunday along with a SAG Award. The ensemble cast has also been nominated for a SAG Award. Female customers dominated Hidden Figures business, comprising 64 percent of the audience. Fox domestic distribution chief Chris Aronson noted that Hidden Figures generated an A+ CinemaScore in all categories. "That's extremely rare to see," he added. "With stellar exit polls, better weather, and a holiday weekend ahead, look for Hidden Figures to be a factor at the domestic box office for weeks and weeks to come."