Moana Holds Off Office Christmas Party
Walt Disney Studios’ Moana topped the box office for the third consecutive weekend (Dec. 9-11) with $18.53 million, a 34.5 percent decline. That brings the animated film’s total domestic earnings to $144.70 million after three weekends. Moana is performing similarly to Walt Disney Animation’s 2015 Big Hero 6, which had grossed $135.7 million domestically at the same point. Big Hero 6 went on to finish its North American run with $222.5 million.
Paramount Pictures’ holiday comedy Office Christmas Party starring Jason Bateman, Olivia Munn, T.J. Miller, Jennifer Aniston and Kate McKinnon challenged Moana for first place, but ultimately fell a bit short with a $16.89 million debut to finish in second. The debut ranks above recent R-rated comedies. Horrible Bosses 2 opened with $15.4 million in 2014 while last year’s Sisters debuted with $13.9 million.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them finished its third weekend on the verge of hitting the $200 million mark in North America. The film took in $10.42 million from 3,626 screens, placing third overall. The film continues its great run overseas, taking in $33.1 million from 67 markets last weekend. The film has grossed $480.7 million outside of North America and $679.7 million worldwide.
Two films that were previously in fewer than 100 theaters expanded into the Top 10, as Focus Features’ Nocturnal Animals took seventh place with $3.16 million and Roadside Attractions’ Manchester by the Sea took eighth place with $3.13 million from only 366 screens. That brought Nocturnal Animals’ earnings to $6.19 million and Manchester by the Sea’s earnings to $8.30 million.
Unfortunately, EuropaCorp’s political drama Miss Sloane couldn’t find similar success in its own expansion and disappointed in 11th place with only $1.84 million, bringing its total earnings to $1.98 million.
The big story of the weekend took place in limited release as Damien Chazelle’s La La Land claimed the highest per-screen average of the year after an $881,104 debut from five locations. That’s a stunning $176,221 per-screen average for Lionsgate’s musical. Adjusted for inflation, that is the fourth-highest per-screen average opening ever for a live action film, behind only 2011’s Red State, 2014’s The Grand Budapest Hotel and 1996’s Evita. It expands this coming weekend, providing an alternative to Star Wars: Rouge One for older audiences.
Other limited releases that are promising include Fox Searchlight’s Jackie and The Weinstein Co.’s Lion. Lion grossed $176,221 from 15 locations, bringing in $11,224 per-screen average and bringing it to a $490,548 total after three weeks in limited release. Jackie brought in $492,255 in its second weekend, playing in 26 locations for a $18,933 per-screen average. The awards contender enters awards season with an $857,080 domestic gross.
This Week | Last Week | Movie | Weekend Gross | Cumulative Gross | Weeks |
1 | 1 | Moana | $18.53M | $144.70M | 3 |
2 | — | Christmas Office Party | $16.89M | $16.89M | 1 |
3 | 2 | Fantastic Beast and Where to Find Them | $10.42M | $198.95M | 4 |
4 | 3 | Arrival | $5.59M | $81.44M | 5 |
5 | 5 | Doctor Strange | $4.54M | $222.27M | 6 |
6 | 4 | Allied | $3.96M | $36.59M | 3 |
7 | — | Nocturnal Animals | $3.16M | $6.19M | 4 |
8 | — | Manchester By the Sea | $3.13M | $8.30M | 4 |
9 | 6 | Trolls | $3.02M | $145.40M | 6 |
10 | 7 | Hacksaw Ridge | $2.29M | $60.85M | 6 |
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.