Weekend Projections: ‘Hidden Figures’ Impresses w/ $21.8M; ‘Sing’ & ‘Rogue One’ Race for First Place; ‘Underworld: Blood Wars’ Eyes $13M

Saturday Update: Fox’s Hidden Figures lived up to optimistic expectations as it debuted in wide release with an estimated $7.575 million on Friday, according to the studio. Notably, that makes it the first film since Rogue One‘s December 16 opening day to place first at the box office other than the aforementioned Star Wars spin-off. Figures is poised to enjoy a strong weekend and leggy run ahead with fantastic reviews and very positive word of mouth. We’re projecting it will come close to our final pre-release forecast of $21.8 million this weekend.

Rogue One itself added $6.054 million yesterday for a new sum of $461.4 million, while Sing pulled $5.1 million ($198.9 million new total). The two are in a close race for first place this weekend, with Figures not far behind.

Meanwhile, La La Land added $3.14 million yesterday, while Underworld: Blood Wars earned around our final forecast range at $4.85 million. A Monster Calls also lived down to expectations, unfortunately, with just $659,000 earned from 1,523 locations.

Our weekend projections based on studio Friday estimates are below. Studio weekend estimates will be published tomorrow.

1 Sing (2016) $24,000,000 -44% 3,955 -74 $6,068 $217,799,645 3 Universal
2 Rogue One: A Star Wars Story $23,900,000 -52% 4,157 0 $5,749 $479,201,354 4 Disney
3 Hidden Figures $21,800,000 2440% 2,471 2446 $8,822 $24,754,178 3 Fox
4 Underworld: Blood Wars $13,000,000 3,070 $4,235 $13,000,000 1 Sony / Screen Gems
5 La La Land $10,500,000 10% 1,515 765 $6,931 $52,156,587 5 Lionsgate / Summit
6 Moana $9,100,000 -17% 2,549 -226 $3,570 $228,081,182 7 Disney
7 Passengers $9,000,000 -44% 3,400 -78 $2,647 $81,093,043 3 Sony / Columbia
8 Why Him? $6,600,000 -34% 2,904 -104 $2,273 $48,659,553 3 Fox
9 Fences $4,700,000 -53% 2,368 67 $1,985 $40,663,264 4 Paramount
10 Assassin’s Creed $3,700,000 -57% 2,642 -354 $1,400 $49,405,783 3 Fox
11 Manchester By the Sea $2,700,000 -36% 1,054 -152 $2,562 $34,040,357 8 Roadside / Amazon
12 A Monster Calls $2,200,000 10343% 1,523 1519 $1,445 $2,291,492 3 Focus
13 Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them $1,900,000 -54% 1,188 -654 $1,599 $229,156,573 8 Warner Bros.
14 Collateral Beauty $1,300,000 -69% 1,402 -1343 $927 $29,855,265 4 Warner Bros. / New Line

LIMITED (100 — 999)

# TITLE WEEKEND LOCATIONS AVG. TOTAL WKS. DIST.
1 Lion $2,000,000 -12% 600 75 $3,333 $9,792,719 7 Weinstein Company
2 Jackie $1,000,000 -36% 353 -6 $2,833 $9,196,551 6 Fox Searchlight
3 Arrival $855,000 -37% 381 -164 $2,244 $94,117,522 9 Paramount
4 Office Christmas Party $850,000 -76% 953 -1394 $892 $54,112,351 5 Paramount / DreamWorks
5 Trolls $500,000 -25% 332 -86 $1,506 $151,347,527 10 Fox / DreamWorks Animation
6 Doctor Strange $320,000 -51% 263 -203 $1,217 $230,910,918 10 Disney
7 Hacksaw Ridge $195,000 -51% 222 -130 $878 $65,082,345 10 Lionsgate
8 Allied $81,000 -49% 121 -42 $669 $39,801,190 7 Paramount

PLATFORM (1 — 99)

# TITLE WEEKEND LOCATIONS AVG. TOTAL WKS. DIST.
1 Silence $575,000 590% 51 47 $11,275 $957,423 3 Paramount
2 Patriots Day $125,000 -15% 7 0 $17,857 $890,414 3 CBS Films / Lionsgate
3 Nocturnal Animals $90,000 -53% 73 -85 $1,233 $10,430,304 8 Focus
4 Loving $48,000 -34% 65 -16 $738 $7,593,102 10 Focus
5 Live By Night $27,000 -27% 4 0 $6,750 $168,490 3 Warner Bros.

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Friday Report: Fox’s Hidden Figures scored $1.2 million from approximately 2,250 locations on Thursday evening, setting the stage for a very strong weekend ahead as the well-reviewed film expands into nationwide release. By comparison, Selma — which followed a similar release strategy — earned $400,000 from its Thursday night opening shows heading into wide release.

Unfortunately, Thursday night figures for Underworld: Blood Wars and A Monster Calls (the latter also expanding nationwide) were unavailable at the time of publishing. That’s particularly unusual for the former of the two titles given its franchise stature, although various outlets report the film launched at midnight instead of the typical 6-8pm window for most films.

Initial weekend projections based on studio Friday estimates will be posted here on Saturday.

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