In what’s shaping up to be a highly competitive holiday weekend at the US box office, 20th Century Fox and Chernin Entertainment’s Hidden Figures has the No 1 spot, just three days in. If it holds, it will be the reigning film for the second week in a row.
The film, based on a true story about black women at Nasa who were integral to the Space Race, brought in an estimated $20.5 million (Dh75.2 million) in the US and Canada during the traditional three-day weekend. The studio is projecting that the film, starring Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monae, will end the four-day Martin Luther King Jr Day weekend with $25.3 million. Hidden Figures is set to hit $60 million in the US by Monday.
Lionsgate’s musical La La Land took second, expanding to more than 1,800 screens (including almost 148 Imax screens) in its sixth week in release. The Emma Stone-Ryan Gosling love story and ode to Los Angeles pulled in $14.5 million in three days. On the heels of the movie’s sweep of all seven of the Golden Globes it was nominated for last week, the studio is projecting a four-day gross of $17.5 million. If this holds, the estimated US gross for the film will be $77.1 million.
Landing in third was Universal’s Sing, in its fourth week. The animated musical garnered $13.8 million through Sunday. The studio is projecting $18.5 million through Monday. To date, the film has pulled $237.7 million in the US.
Lucasfilm-Disney’s Rogue One: A Star Wars Story landed in fourth in its fifth week with an estimated $13.8 million over three days. It’s projected to pull in $17.2 million over the four-day weekend. The picture is on its way to the coveted $1 billion mark, with $980 million in ticket sales worldwide.
