Force Awakens Earns 2nd Highest Gross Ever
Walt Disney Studios’ Star Wars: The Force Awakens took in $42.35 million to lead the weekend box office for a fourth consecutive week. The seventh chapter of the Star Wars had the second largest fourth weekend gross of all-time; behind only the $50.31 million fourth weekend take of Avatar back in January 2010. The Force Awakens was down 53 percent from the previous weekend, because so many moviegoers have already seen it, the end of the holidays and The Revenant entered theaters last weekend (Jan. 8-10).
Still, Star Wars: The Force Awakens passed the $800 million mark over the weekend and continues to add to its total as the highest grossing film of all-time domestically with $812.73 million in 24 days of release. It is running 89 percent ahead of the $430.85 million 24-day take of Avatar and 46 percent ahead of the $556.54 million 24-day gross of last year’s Jurassic World. When adjusting for inflation, Star Wars: The Force Awakens is now in 12 place on the all-time adjusted domestic list, as the film moved past Return of the Jedi, The Exorcist and The Empire Strikes Back last weekend.
Twentieth Century Fox’s The Revenant had a terrific expansion into wide release with a close second place take of $39.83 million. The Alejandro González Iñárritu directed western starring Leonardo DiCaprio exceeded expectations and claimed the fourth largest January opening weekend of all-time without adjusting for inflation. It was especially important for The Revenant to get off to a strong start considering the film’s expensive price tag. The Revenant is another strong performer for DiCaprio. Last weekend’s performance was just ahead of the $37.85 million debut of 2014’s Lone Survivor and 63 percent ahead of the $24.44 million Zero Dark Thirty took in during its first weekend of wide release in January 2013. After two weeks in limited release, The Revenant has grossed $41.38 million in 17 days. It will hope to hold up well going forward, thanks in part to its awards season buzz, which was strengthened by its three Golden Globe wins Sunday night.
Paramount Pictures’ Daddy’s Home finished in third place with $15.02 million. The PG-13 rated comedy starring Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg was down a 49 percent from the previous weekend, as the end of the holiday season and the stronger than expected performance of The Revenant affected holdovers in general last weekend. Even with the decline, Daddy’s Home continues to impress with a stronger than expected 17-day take of $116.33 million.
The Forest debuted in fourth place with $12.74 million. The PG-13 horror film from Focus and Gramercy starring Natalie Dormer exceeded expectations and was off to a solid start considering its modest $10 million reported production budget. January tends to be a good month to open horror films and that trend continued for The Forest. Going forward, it should be front-loaded given its genre and the upcoming direct competition from STX Entertainment’s The Boy beginning Jan. 22.
Sisters rounded out the weekend’s top five with $7.19 million. Universal Pictures’ R-rated comedy starring Tina Fey and Amy Poehler fell 44 percent, which represented one of the weekend’s stronger holds. The movie continues to impress with a 24-day gross of $73.90 million.
The Weinstein Co.’s The Hateful Eight and Paramount’s The Big Short took sixth and seventh place with respective grosses of $6.40 million and $6.17 million. The break-out performance of The Revenant took a toll on both films, as The Hateful Eight was down 59 percent despite adding 464 theaters and The Big Short was down 32 percent despite adding 941 locations. Respective total grosses stand at $42.72 million for The Big Short in 31 days and at $41.53 million for The Hateful Eight in 17 days.
This Week | Last Week | Movie | Weekend Gross | Cumulative Gross | Weeks |
1 | 1 | Star Wars: The Force Awakens | $42.35M | $812.73M | 4 |
2 | N/A | The Revenant | $39.83M | $41.38M | 3 |
3 | 2 | Daddy’s Home | $15.02M | $116.33M | 3 |
4 | N/A | The Forest | $12.74M | $12.74M | 1 |
5 | 4 | Sisters | $7.19M | $73.90M | 4 |
6 | 3 | The Hateful Eight | $6.40M | $41.53M | 3 |
7 | 7 | The Big Short | $6.17M | $42.72M | 5 |
8 | 5 | Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip | $5.70M | $75.81M | 4 |
9 | 6 | Joy | $4.48M | $46.53M | 3 |
10 | 8 | Concussion | $3.03M | $30.95M | 3 |
Editor-in-Chief Mark Heckathorn is a journalist, movie buff and foodie. He oversees DC on Heels editorial operations as well as strategic planning and staff development. Reach him with story ideas or suggestions at dcoheditor (at) gmail (dot) com.