'Rogue One' soars to second-best December debut with $155M
LOS ANGELES (AP) — "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" soared to the top of the weekend box office as expected, scoring the second-best December opening ever with $155 million in estimated ticket sales.
After the biggest Thursday night debut of the year, the intergalactic adventure blasted past industry expectations for a $130 million weekend, according Sunday's studio estimates.
Set before the events of the original 1977 "Star Wars," it stars Felicity Jones and Diego Luna as leaders of a rebel faction that steals plans for its imperial enemy's master weapon, the Death Star.
"Rogue One" knocked the No. 1 movie for the past three weeks, Disney's "Moana," to a distant second with $11.6 million, followed by "Office Christmas Party" with $8.4 million.
The weekend's other new wide release, the critically panned Will Smith drama "Collateral Beauty," opened in fourth place with $7 million.
Manchester by the Sea, ''La La Land and Arrival, which all earned awards nominations recently, remain in the box office top 10.
Moviegoers who see "Rogue One" will also get a peek at next year's anticipated blockbusters:
Trailers for the new Guardians of the Galaxy, ''Spider-Man and Fast & Furious films play before the feature.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to comScore.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at international theaters (excluding the U.S. and Canada), according to comScore:
Universal and Focus are owned by NBC Universal, a unit of Comcast Corp.; Sony, Columbia, Sony Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp.; Paramount is owned by Viacom Inc.; Disney, Pixar and Marvel are owned by The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax is owned by Filmyard Holdings LLC; 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight are owned by 21st Century Fox; Warner Bros. and New Line are units of Time Warner Inc.; MGM is owned by a group of former creditors including Highland Capital, Anchorage Advisors and Carl Icahn; Lionsgate is owned by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.; IFC is owned by AMC Networks Inc.; Rogue is owned by Relativity Media LLC.