‘Rogue One’ tops box office for third straight weekend

Published 10:48 am Thursday, January 5, 2017

NEW YORK (AP) — The new year at the box office is starting where 2016 left off: with Disney on top.

The “Star Wars” spinoff “Rogue One” led the box office for the third straight week, taking in an estimated $64.3 million over the four-day New Year’s weekend, according to studio estimates Monday.

The success of Gareth Edwards’ “Rogue One” has only further cemented a record year for the Walt Disney Co., which ran up $2.7 billion in domestic ticket sales in 2016 and accounted for more than 25 percent of the market.

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“Rogue One,” which has now grossed about $440 million in North America and nearly $800 million globally, currently slots in as the year’s No. 2 movie, following “Finding Dory” (also from Disney). The studio notched four of the five top films and has, in a year marked by franchise struggles, made a routine of churning out well-reviewed, hugely profitable blockbusters.

The weekend pushed the industry to $11.4 billion in ticket sales in 2016, topping the $11.1 billion record set in 2015.