Disney-Lucasfilm’s “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” edged “Hidden Figures” in the race for the top spot at the North American box office with an estimated $22 million at 4,175 locations, estimates showed Sunday.
“Hidden Figures,” a well-reviewed comedy-drama about pioneering African-American women in the early days of the American space program, trailed by only $200,000 with $21.8 million at 2,471 sites. So the positions could reverse when final figures for weekend are released Monday.
Snowy weather in the Eastern United States held down overall moviegoing during Friday and Saturday. Box office tracker comScore reported a 15% decline from the year-ago weekend to $135 million.
“Anything that provides a barrier to people getting out of their houses to go to movies is going to hold down business,” noted Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst with comScore.
It was the fourth consecutive weekend victory for “Rogue One,” which has lifted its domestic total to $477.3 million in its first 24 days. The eighth “Star Wars” movie is now the eighth-largest domestic grosser of all time, trailing “Finding Dory” by less than $10 million.
