Box Office: 'Star Wars' Beats 'The Revenant' in U.S., Storms China With Record $53M Debut
By Pamela McClintock
Globally, the movie has overtaken ‘Jurassic World’ to become the No. 3 film of all time, not accounting for inflation; 'The Revenant’ vastly overperforms, underscoring Leonardo DiCaprio’s star power.
J.J. Abrams’ Star Wars: The Force Awakens stayed atop the North American box office in its fourth weekend after finding itself in an unexpectedly close horse race with Leonardo DiCaprio’s The Revenant, which vastly overperformed in its nationwide expansion.
And globally, Force Awakens leapt past the $1.669 billion grossed worldwide by Jurassic World to become the No. 3 title of all time behind Avatar ($2.78 billion) and Titanic ($2.19 billion) with $1.73 billion in ticket sales, not accounting for inflation. The victory was fueled by a rousing $53 million debut in China, the biggest Saturday-Sunday opening of all time in the Middle Kingdom.
Domestically, Force Awakens grossed $41.6 million from 41,34 theaters for a North American total of $812 million (it’s the first movie to ever cross $800 million in the U.S.).
READ MORE: 'Awards Chatter’ Podcast — J.J. Abrams ('Star Wars: The Force Awakens’)
In a surprise upset, the blockbuster lost Friday to The Revenant ($14.4 million versus $10.7 million, but pulled ahead on Saturday.
The Revenant, starring DiCaprio and directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu, is still a huge victory in grossing a better-than-expected $38 million from 3,375 locations on the eve of Sunday’s Golden Globes ceremony, where the film is up for best picture, best director and best actor in the drama categories.
Heading into the weekend, The Revenant was tracking to gross in the $20 million range.
From New Regency and Fox, The Revenant wasn’t a cheap proposition, having cost $130 million to make. Nor is the R-rated film — a bloody, bruising frontier epic that also stars Tom Hardy — an easy sell.
The Revenant expanded nationwide on Friday after an impressive limited run in New York and Los Angeles. The film grossed a strong $2.3 million Thursday night as it began its nationwide expansion.
Last year, Iñárritu’s Birdman won the Oscar for best picture. This year’s Academy Awards nominees will be announced next week. The Revenant marks the widest release of Iñárritu’s career to date; at its widest, Birdman played in 1,213 theaters, while Babel played in 1,251.
READ MORE: Box Office: 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ Faces Final Test in China
The Revenant will quickly surpass the domestic lifetime gross of every other film Iñárritu has directed. Birdman is his top-grossing film to date with $42.3 million. It’s also one of the better openings for DiCaprio.
Elsewhere, Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg’s Christmas comedy Daddy’s Home is expected to place No. 3 with an estimated $13 million to $14 million, pushing its domestic total to $115 million.
Natalie Dormer-starrer The Forest, opening nationwide this weekend, opened to $5 million on Friday for a projected $11.7 million weekend. From Focus Features/Gramercy Pictures, the horror movie is expected to place No. 4.
READ MORE: Box Office: 5 Lessons for 2016 From Hollywood’s Record Highs and Lows
In marketing The Forest, rated PG-13, Focus has targeted younger females and Hispanic moviegoers. The story follows a young woman who goes in search of her twin sister, who has vanished in Japan. She’s eventually led to a legendary forest at the base of Mount Fuji where people go to die.
Tina Fey and Amy Poehler’s comedy Sisters will round out the top five with an expected $7 million weekend for a domestic total approaching $75 million.
Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight and The Big Short, the financial dramedy directed by Adam McKay, are in a close race for No. 6. Both films are projected to gross roughly $6 million for the weekend.
Watch the ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ cast react when seeing the movie for the first time.
