Box Office: 'Star Wars' Crosses $800 Million Domestically, 'Revenant' Impresses

By Brent Lang
LOS ANGELES, Jan 10 (Variety.com) - The force was strong
with Leonardo DiCaprio, but not quite strong enough to dethrone
"Star Wars" from its perch atop box office charts.
"The Force Awakens" was in a pitched battle with "The
Revenant" for first place, but managed to retain its crown for
the fourth straight weekend, picking up $41.6 million in
receipts. That brings the space opera sequel's stateside haul to
$812 million, making it the first film to ever cross $800
million domestically.
"The Revenant" still had much to celebrate. The revenge
drama about a fur trapper whose quest for vengeance finds him
braving roaring rapids, dodging hostile Native American tribes,
and disemboweling a dead horse, became an unlikely box office
winner. The film, which is expected to land DiCaprio in the
Oscar race, pulled in a sterling $38 million in its wide release
debut.
Directed by Alejandro G. Inarritu, Fox bowed the bloody
thriller across 3,375 locations. The hugely complicated shoot
was a production nightmare, with the film's budget ballooning
from $90 million to $135 million and the cast and crew being
forced to decamp from Canada to Argentina in search of snow.
Despite the challenges, the film exceeded projections, which
had it opening to around $20 million. Combined with its grosses
from the two weeks it spent in limited release, "The Revenant"
has now made $39.5 million.
Paramount's "Daddy's Home," a comedy about a step-father
(Will Ferrell) locked in a fierce battle with his wife's first
husband (Mark Wahlberg) for her kid's affections, took third
place with $ million. It has made since debuting over Christmas.
Focus Features opened thriller "The Forest," starring
Natalie Dormer and Taylor Kinney, in 2,451 locations, where it
grossed $13.1 million for a fourth place finish. The film
centers on a young American woman who travels to Japan to find
her sister.
Universal's "Sisters" rounded out the top five, earning $7.2
million. The Amy Poehler and Tina Fey comedy about a pair of
siblings suffering from arrested development has racked up $73.9
million.
Quentin Tarantino's "The Hateful Eight" dropped a steep 60%
from its wide release bow despite adding 464 theaters. The
revisionist Western picked up $6.4 million, bringing its total
to $41.5 million.