“Rogue One” storms worldwide box office with $290 million

PanARMENIAN.Net - "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" has a successful opening at worldwide box office. The Felicity Jones-led "Star Wars" spin-off debuts on the top spot in North American with an estimated $155 million and collects approximately $135.5 million at global box office, AceShowbiz said.

The haul at the domestic box office marks the second largest opening after last year's "Star Wars: The Force Awakens", which set record with a massive $248 million. It also makes the Gareth Edwards-directed movie the 12th-biggest debut of all time as well as the third largest this year behind Marvel's "Captain America: Civil War" ($179.1 million) and DC's "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" ($166 million).

"If not for 'The Force Awakens', our minds would be absolutely blown by a $155 million opening in December," says comScore senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian, noting that there was no December movie had ever opened with over $100 million before "The Force Awakens".

Another newcomer this weekend at domestic box office is "Collateral Beauty" which lands in the fourth place. The drama starring Will Smith, Keira Knightley, Edward Norton and Helen Mirren, which received only 14% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes, opens soft with an estimated $7 million. It marks the worst wide-release opening in Smith's career.

Dergarabedian says that Warner Bros. has released the David Frankle-directed movie as "total counterprogramming," before adding, "But how do you rise above the positive noise (around) 'Star Wars'? Everything else played second fiddle. You've got 'Rogue One' looming like the Death Star over every movie."

Rounding out the top five are "Moana", "Office Christmas Party" and "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them". The three-time domestic box office champion and the holiday comedy drop one slot each to the runner-up spot with an estimated $11.7 million and to the third place with approximately $8.5 million respectively, while the "Harry Potter" prequel drops two slots to the fifth place with additional $5 million.