“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” Scores $155 Million Debut

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Lucasfilm/Disney(NEW YORK) — As expected, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story debuted atop the box office, hauling in an estimated $155 million for the weekend, according to Box Office Mojo.

The film, starring Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Bill Mendelsohn, Forest Whitaker, Riz Ahmed and Alan Tudyk, drove the fourth-largest December three-day weekend ever, while also delivering the third largest opening of 2016, the 12th largest opening of all-time and becoming only the second December opener to debut over $100 million, behind last year’s opening for Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story was released by Lucasfilm, which is owned by ABC’s parent company, Disney.

Moana, the Disney animated adventure featuring the voices of  Auli’i Cravalho and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, brought in an estimated $11.6 million for a second-place finish, bringing its domestic earnings to $161.8 million and overtaking Star Trek Beyond as the 12th highest-grossing film of 2016. Third place belongs to Office Christmas Party, the ensemble comedy led by Jennifer Aniston and Jason Bateman, which brought in a little over $8 million.

Rounding out the top five was one of the weekend’s other new releases, Collateral Beauty, turning in a disappointing fourth-place finish with $7 million. It also handed its star, Will Smith, his worst wide opening numbers ever. 

A couple of Oscar contenders — Manchester by the Sea, starring Casey Affleck, opening in limited release, and La La Land, starring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone, expanding into 200 theaters this weekend — also continued to impress, bringing in $4.15 and $4 million, respectively.

Here are the top 10 movies from Friday through Sunday, with estimated weekend gross ticket sales:

1. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, $155 million
2. Moana, $11.6 million
3. Office Christmas Party, $8 million
4. Collateral Beauty, $7 million
5. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, $5 million
6. Manchester by the Sea, $4 million
7. La La Land, $4 million
8. Arrival, $2.7 million
9. Doctor Strange, $2 million
10. Nocturnal Animals, $1.3 million

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