Figures blasts off at box office

Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monae star as three brilliant black women working at NASA in Hidden Figures. It came in first at last weekend’s box office and made about $23 million.
Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monae star as three brilliant black women working at NASA in Hidden Figures. It came in first at last weekend’s box office and made about $23 million.

LOS ANGELES -- The new movie Hidden Figures tells the uplifting true story of a trio of women who defied expectations as they helped the U.S. space program. Now the tale is also beating the odds at the box office.

The film surpassed industry projections in its wide-release debut over the weekend, collecting about $23 million in ticket sales Friday through Sunday in U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to studio estimates.

Hidden Figures had already built up good will with audiences during its limited release, pulling in nearly $3 million from just 25 theaters. The film stars Octavia Spencer (The Help), Taraji P. Henson (Empire) and Janelle Monae (Moonlight). It also features Kevin Costner and Kirsten Dunst, plus songs by Pharrell Williams.

"There's an intense want-to-see for this film," said Chris Aronson, head of domestic distribution for 20th Century Fox. "This is an all-audience, multigenerational movie that has enthralled audiences and will for some time to come. It truly is a movie for everyone."

Walt Disney Co.'s Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, ended up in second place.

The movie, a prequel to the first Star Wars film, collected about $22 million in U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to researcher ComScore Inc.

The latest blockbuster in Lucasfilm's Star Wars franchise has now grossed $477 million in the domestic marketplace, meaning it will soon pass Disney's Finding Dory as the highest-grossing film of 2016. Its worldwide tally stands at $914 million.

In third place domestically was Sing, the cartoon animal musical from Universal Pictures and its in-house animation partner Illumination Entertainment. The movie danced its way to about $21 million in its third weekend in theaters, bringing its domestic total to $214 million. It cost $75 million to make.

Meanwhile, horror-action sequel Underworld: Blood Wars -- starring franchise stalwart Kate Beckinsale -- is the fourth film in the series about a centurieslong conflict between vampires and werewolves, and the franchise appears to be showing its age with U.S. audiences. In fourth place, Underworld brought in about $14 million.

The 2012 entry Underworld Awakening earned $25 million in its initial weekend. But Screen Gems spent much less on production this time around ($35 million for Blood Wars, versus more than $70 million for the previous installment).

"Internationally speaking, we're doing well," Screen Gems distribution chief Rory Bruer said. "It's always been an international play as much as domestic. We felt fairly certain it would turn out to be profitable if we made it for a price."

La La Land, Lionsgate's Golden Globes winner, continued to pick up the tempo as the Emma Stone-Ryan Gosling musical expanded to 1,515 theaters. The critical darling, directed by Damien Chazelle, earned $10 million, taking a fifth-place finish. The box-office haul for La La Land has now reached about $52 million.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

The top 20 movies at U.S. and Canadian theaters Friday through Sunday, followed by distribution studio, gross, number of theater locations, average receipts per location, total gross and number of weeks in release, as compiled Monday by comScore:

  1. Hidden Figures, 20th Century Fox, $22,800,057, 2,471 locations, $9,227 average, $25,754,235, three weeks.

  2. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Disney, $22,063,570, 4,157 locations, $5,308 average, $477,364,924, four weeks.

  3. Sing, Universal, $20,712,365, 3,955 locations, $5,237 average, $214,512,010, three weeks.

  4. Underworld: Blood Wars, Screen Gems, $13,688,751, 3,070 locations, $4,459 average, $13,688,751, one week.

  5. La La Land, Lionsgate, $10,132,213, 1,515 locations, $6,688 average, $51,788,800, five weeks.

  6. Passengers, Columbia, $8,816,213, 3,400 locations, $2,593 average, $80,909,256, three weeks.

  7. Why Him? 20th Century Fox, $6,901,730, 2,904 locations, $2,377 average, $48,961,283, three weeks.

  8. Moana, Disney, $6,384,485, 2,549 locations, $2,505 average, $225,365,667, seven weeks.

  9. Fences, Paramount, $4,813,606, 2,368 locations, $2,033 average, $40,776,870, four weeks.

  10. Assassin's Creed, 20th Century Fox, $4,178,643, 2,642 locations, $1,582 average, $49,884,426, three weeks.

  11. Manchester by the Sea, Roadside Attractions, $2,517,794, 1,057 locations, $2,382 average, $33,858,151, eight weeks.

  12. A Monster Calls, Focus Features, $2,080,051, 1,523 locations, $1,366 average, $2,171,543, three weeks.

  13. Lion, The Weinstein Co., $2,073,433, 600 locations, $3,456 average, $9,866,152, seven weeks.

  14. MET Opera: Nabucco (2017), Fathom Events, $1,940,000, 900 locations, $2,156 average, $1,940,000, one week.

  15. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Warner Bros., $1,923,459, 1,188 locations, $1,619 average, $229,180,032, eight weeks.

  16. Collateral Beauty, Warner Bros., $1,291,048, 1,402 locations, $921 average, $29,846,313, four weeks.

  17. Jackie, Fox Searchlight, $1,048,643, 353 locations, $2,971 average, $9,245,194, six weeks.

  18. Arrival, Paramount, $865,796, 381 locations, $2,272 average, $94,128,318, nine weeks.

  19. Dangal, UTV Communications, $807,311, 237 locations, $3,406 average, $11,151,900, three weeks.

  20. Office Christmas Party, Paramount, $802,911, 953 locations, $843 average, $54,065,262, five weeks.

MovieStyle on 01/13/2017

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