So, if you’re a movie and you just had the biggest opening weekend at the box office ever, what do you do for an encore? Why, have the biggest follow-up weekend ever, of course.
And that’s just what Star Wars: The Force Awakens did Christmas weekend. After collecting all the dollars (or, at least, $248 million of them) last weekend, The Force Awakens compelled moviegoers to plunk down another $153.5 million (estimated at this point, of course) to place a psychic chokehold on its second straight box office crown. The J.J. Abrams flick has already banked $544.6 million domestically, making it the fifth highest-grossing movie ever. Toss in the $546 million it’s earned overseas, and you’ve got yourself about a $1.1 billion property in just 12 days worth of work. That’ll buy you plenty of lords o’ leaping, that’s for sure. Maybe the B’s in BB-8’s moniker stands for billions and billions.
Earning $1 billion in just 12 days is, of course, a box office record (breaking the old mark set by Jurassic World earlier this year). But, really, records for this latest Star Wars movie are as rote as Aunt Beru’s dinner menu. The Force Awakens has already set 35 of them, according to Box Office Mojo, and probably a couple more will fall by the time you finish reading this blog. And, in truth, the movie has bigger quarry in its sights. Domestically, The Force Awakens needs to earn less than $118 million more to become the biggest flick of 2015, and it trails all-time champ Avatar by just $216 million. But beating Avatar in worldwide grosses might be the biggest challenge: Avatar’s earned nearly $2.8 billion worldwide, after all. But keep in mind, The Force Awakens still hasn’t opened in China, and that’s the world’s second-biggest movie market.
Even without The Force Awakens to boost its coffers, it’s been quite the year for the movie industry. Consider: The biggest movie in America in 2014 was technically American Sniper, which earned $350.1 million. That total (most of which was ironically earned in 2015, given its Christmas Day release) would be good for only sixth place this year. It’d be more than $300 million behind current leader Jurassic World ($652.3 million) and would also trail The Force Awakens, Avengers: Age of Ultron ($459 million), Inside Out ($356.5 million) and Furious 7 ($353 million).
It’s unlikely that any of Christmas weekend’s other newcomers will crack that illustrious list, but many still performed quite well. Daddy’s Home finished second to The Force Awakens, collecting $38.8 million. Joy mopped up third place with $17.5 million (and also gave its star, Jennifer Lawrence, two movies in the Top 10; The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 is ninth with $5.3 million).
Two holdovers—Sisters and Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip—rounded out the Top Five, collecting $13.9 million and $12.7 million respectively. Two other new releases finished in the Top 10. Oscar hopeful Concussion notched $11 million to finish sixth, while non-Oscar hopeful Point Break stole $10.2 million for eighth.
Oh, and speaking of the number eight, Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight finished 11th, pocketing $4.5 million while playing in just 100 theaters. The box office might be even more hateful next week when the movie rolls wide.
Final figures update: 1. Star Wars: The Force Awakens, $149.2 million; 2. Daddy’s Home $38.7 million; 3. Joy, $17 million; 4. Sisters, $14.2 million; 5. Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip, $13.1 million. Concussion finished seventh with $10.5 million, Point Break was eighth with $9.8 million, and The Hateful Eight finished 10th with $4.6 million.
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