Weekend Box Office Report: January 1-3, 2016

Star Wars continues to rule!

The long-awaited sequel in a galaxy far, far away celebrated the new year with stellar business as STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS again reigned supreme at the box office with $88.3 million!

In addition to having the biggest third weekend and New Year’s Day of any release, the current $740 million domestic total of STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS has buried the $658 million of TITANIC and is just a lightsaber's length away from cutting down the $760 million domestic finish of AVATAR to become the highest-grossing movie in history.

The new characters and returning favorites have collected $1.51 billion worldwide in 17 days, surging past AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON to become the sixth highest global total ever with FURIOUS 7, THE AVENGERS and JURASSIC WORLD also soon to fall beneath Kylo Ren's quivering blade.

The J.J. Abrams-directed seventh chapter of the STAR WARS saga will then only have the $2.18 billion of TITANIC and $2.78 billion of AVATAR left in its sights (certainly a huge amount of money for movies, but THE FORCE AWAKENS is also expected to sell at least $5 billion worth of merchandise in its first year.)

Holding firm in second place was the Will Ferrell/Mark Wahlberg comedy DADDY'S HOME with $29 million, down just 25% from its Christmas Day release for a domestic total rapidly approaching the $100 million mark (nearly doubling its reported $50 million cost).

In third place was Quentin Tarantino's THE HATEFUL EIGHT with $16.2 million as it expanded from its 100-screen 70mm roadshow into nearly 2500 locations. That opening is about half of the filmmaker's previous effort DJANGO UNCHAINED, another Western that started out on Christmas Day back in 2012 (it went on to $425 million worldwide).

Tarantino's latest R-rated bloodbath with Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Samuel L. Jackson is up to $29.5 million total after its week in limited release (it cost a reported $44 million), and it currently sits at a 75% critical average on Rotten Tomatoes.

The Tina Fey/Amy Poehler comedy SISTERS and the sequel ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS: THE ROAD CHIP held their spots from last week, while director David O. Russell's new drama JOY slipped past them to sixth with $10.4 million, down 38% from its third place opening on Christmas.

The financial crisis drama THE BIG SHORT continues to do solid business in seventh place with another $9 million (a 14% drop from its first weekend in wide release) for a domestic total of $32.9 million. Will Smith's NFL medical drama CONCUSSION was in eighth with $8 million (a 24% drop from last weekend), and the POINT BREAK remake and THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY PART 2 closed out the Top 10.

Outside the chart, CREED left the list after punching through the $100 million mark. The stop-motion animated drama ANOMALISA from writer/co-director Charlie Kaufman opened in limited release for a $35k per-screen average, and THE REVENANT had another strong limited release performance with a superb $112k per-screen in just four theaters.

Next weekend brings Natalie Dormer in the PG-13 horror movie THE FOREST, and THE REVENANT and ANOMALISA expand into wider release.

What January release are you most interested in seeing? VOTE HERE!