As expected, Rogue One came and conquered. While box office returns for the first Star Wars spin-off title are sharply down from last year’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens, when all is totaled and accounted for, the Gareth Edwards-directed space opera will likely top the list for the top grossing domestic grosser of 2016. As of now, the film is in third place domestically with $393.5 million in the bank as of December 30th. New Years Eve totals will likely propel the film into the second place slot as Rogue One is within doable reach of current #2 – Captain America: Civil War ($408 million). Pixar’s Finding Dory still leads all 2016 domestic grossers with it $486 million total.
Rogue One has already amassed a stellar $706 million in worldwide grosses, further cementing the revived Star Wars brand.
What’s further telling behind 2016 top grossing titles is the sheer market dominance of Disney. The Mouse House – with subsidiaries that include Lucasfilm, Pixar and Marvel – holds the distinction of being behind not just the top three grossing titles of the year but a total of six films in the Top 10 – The Jungle Book, Zootopia and Doctor Strange represent the remaining blockbusters all a part of the Disney fold this past year with their in-house animation hit Moana in striking distance of making the cut as well (that film has earned $203 million domestically so far, good enough for 12th place). While Disney had a few clunkers this past year (Alice Through the Looking Glass, The BFG and The Finest Hours notably), the hits were massively successful.
Below are the top ten highest grossing titles at the domestic box office as 2016 comes to a close.
We will stay tuned to see how high Rogue One: A Star Wars Story soars.