Weekend Wrap-Up: The Schwartz is still Strong with Star Wars as it Earns $42.35 Million
January 12, 2016
Star Wars: The Force Awakens earned first place on the weekend chart for the fourth time and likely the last time. It was a close race, as The Revenant beat expectations; meanwhile, The Forest was very solid as counter-programming. The overall box office was $159 million, which is 28% less than last weekend, but 26% more than the same weekend last year. After just two weeks, 2016 is 19% / $70 million above 2015's pace. Granted, it is way too early to make any long terms predictions and next weekend will be brutal for 2016 in the year-over-year comparison, but every little bit now will help at the end of the year.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens earned $42.35 million over the weekend for a total of $812.73 million after four weeks of release. The film hit $800 million during its 23rd day of release. By comparison, Jurassic World took 24 days to reach $550 million, while Avatar reached $400 million 23 days into its run. Granted, Avatar earned another $300 million after this point, while The Force Awakens has about $100 million left in its initial run. (I wouldn't be surprised if it was re-released to coincide with other future installments in the franchise.)
The Revenant expanded wide earning second place with $39.83 million over the weekend for a total of $41.38 million including its limited release. This is more than enough to guarantee a $100 million run; after all, its reviews and Award Season wins should help its legs.
Daddy's Home earned third place with $15.02 million over the weekend for a total of $116.33 million after three weeks of release. This is a bigger dip than expected, but the film is already a hit, so the studio shouldn't be upset.
The Forest opened in fourth place with $12.74 million over the weekend. This is more than the $10 million the film cost to make. Granted, horror films tend to have bad legs, especially when the reviews are this terrible. Natalie Dormer is earning some praise for her performance, but the film is merely spooky and never truly scary. If it can do any business internationally, then the film will break even early in its home market run. If it can do a little better internationally, then it could break even before the home market.
Sisters secured fifth place with $7.19 million over the weekend for a total of $73.90 million after four weeks of release. The film reportedly cost $30 million to make, so it has already paid for its production budget domestically. It is struggling internationally, but that's true of most comedies, so it will have to wait for its initial push into the home market to break even.
The Hateful Eight's second weekend of wide release saw it fall 59% to $6.40 million over the weekend for a total of $41.53 million after three. It looks like it won't match its $62 million production budget domestically, so it will have rely on international / home market numbers to break even.
- Star Wars: The Force Awakens Comparisons
- The Revenant Comparisons
- The Forest Comparisons
Filed under: Weekend Wrap-up, Star Wars Ep. VII: The Force Awakens, Sisters, The Forest, The Revenant, The Hateful Eight, Daddy’s Home, Star Wars, Natalie Dormer