Force still strong
‘Star Wars’ topped the box office for the third week in a row
Chewie, we’re home, says Han Solo (Harrison Ford) to Chewbacca in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. What he doesn’t mention is the $88.3m their outing made in the new year. Star Wars: The Force Awakens marched confidently into the new year, raking in an additional $88.3 million (Dh324.22 million) over the weekend and topping the box office for a third week, according to studio estimates on Sunday.
In addition to setting a new high mark in New Year’s box-office history, the film blew past the US grosses of both Jurassic World ($652.3 million) and Titanic ($658.7 million) to become the second-highest earner of all time, with $740.3 million, in just 19 days of release.
The top US film is Avatar with a $760.5 million lifetime US gross, but Star Wars is barrelling in to surpass it soon. For context, it took Avatar 72 days to reach $700 million. did that in 16 days.
Internationally, earned $96.3 million this weekend, boosting its global total to $184.6 million. The film opens in China on January 9.
While Star Wars might not give up its throne any time soon, films like Daddy’s Home and Sisters have proven to be strong performers.
Daddy’s Home, the comedy starring Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg, came in second with an estimated $29 million, bringing its total to $93.7 million in just two weeks. The film is out in the UAE on Thursday. Meanwhile, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler’s comedy Sisters brought in $12.6 million in its third weekend for a fourth-place spot. The film has earned $61.7 million so far.
Quentin Tarantino’s bloody Western The Hateful Eight, meanwhile, took third with $16.2 million in its first weekend in wide release after a limited debut. —AP