Weekend Box Office Report: January 13-15, 2017

Hidden Figures hiding in plain sight!

Space was the place to go this weekend as the historical NASA drama HIDDEN FIGURES took the top spot at the box office with an estimated $20.4 million!

The inspirational story of black women's contributions to the Space Race expanded to 3200 screens on the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend and stayed in first place (after shifting up from last weekend's estimated second slot when Monday's actual totals were calculated).

The adaptation of Margot Lee Shetterly's book, featuring Octavia Spencer, Taraji Henson and singer Janelle Monáe, cost a reported $25 million and has collected a domestic total of $54.8 million.

Awards attention gave a big boost to the musical LA LA LAND, which danced all the way up to second place with $14.5 million after waltzing around the chart for several weeks. The PG-13 Ryan Gosling/Emma Stone romance, which cost a reported $30 million to make, now has a worldwide total of $128.8 million.

The animated feature SING remained in third place with $13.8 million as the animal musical from DESPICABLE ME creators Illumination Entertainment has pulled in nearly $400 million worldwide (on a $75 million reported cost).

ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY descended to fourth place with $13.7 million on its fifth week in theaters. The prequel to the original 1977 STAR WARS is now just short of half a billion domestic, and has climbed to $979 million worldwide.

Opening in fifth place was the new horror movie THE BYE BYE MAN with $13.3 million. The PG-13 supernatural thriller, which only cost a reported $7.5 million, scared up a 27% critical average on Rotten Tomatoes (you can read the JoBlo review HERE).

The drama PATRIOT'S DAY expanded wide to 3100 screens and came in sixth place with $12 million. Mark Wahlberg and director Peter Berg's account of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing cost a reported $45 million to make, and has a domestic total of $12.9 million after three weeks in limited release. The movie currently has a 79% average on Rotten Tomatoes (the JoBlo review is HERE).

The mystifying high-concept kids movie MONSTER TRUCKS opened in seventh place with $10.5 million. The new PG-rated action movie with Lucas Till and his friendly creature-vehicle cost a reported $125 million to make, and had bounced around the release schedule since May 2015 before finally driving into theaters this weekend. The movie crashed with critics at 31% on Rotten Tomatoes, and you can check out the JoBlo review HERE.

Meanwhile, the new Jamie Foxx action movie SLEEPLESS quietly opened in eighth place with $8.4 million. The R-rated remake of the Belgian cop thriller SLEEPLESS NIGHT cost a reported $30 million and got locked up by critics with 11% on Rotten Tomatoes (read the JoBlo review HERE).

In ninth place was the Kate Beckinsale vampire sequel UNDERWORLD: BLOOD WARS with $5.8 million, down 57% from its debut in fourth place last weekend. The $35 million R-rated action movie has a worldwide total of $70 million. The Chris Pratt/Jennifer Lawrence space romance PASSENGERS closed out the list with $5.6 million.

Outside the chart, the weekend's casualties included the comedy WHY HIM?, Disney's MOANA, the videogame adaptation ASSASSIN'S CREED and Denzel Washington's FENCES. Ben Affleck's crime drama LIVE BY NIGHT expanded to 2800 screens but couldn't crack the Top 10 with $5.4 million, and Martin Scorsese's religious drama SILENCE added nearly 700 screens for a $1.9 million weekend.

And although it doesn't reach North American theaters for another month, the Matt Damon action movie THE GREAT WALL has already amassed nearly $200 million from international audiences.

Next weekend has Vin Diesel back as EXTREME espionage agent xXx: THE RETURN OF XANDER CAGE, James McAvoy has personality problems in M. NIght Shyamalan's thriller SPLIT, and Michael Keaton dishes out some McDonald's meals in THE FOUNDER, while the drama 20TH CENTURY WOMEN expands from limited release.

What 2017 release are you most excited to see? VOTE HERE!