By Sandy Cohen, Entertainment Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) --"Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" soared to the top of the weekend box office as expected, scoring the second-best December opening ever with $155 million in estimated ticket sales.
After the biggest Thursday night debut of the year, the intergalactic adventure blasted past industry expectations for a $130 million weekend, according Sunday's studio estimates. "Rogue One" opened at No. 1 in all markets globally, though it has yet to bow in China and Korea.
"We're in uncharted territory for December," said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for box office tracker comScore. "It's going to be really hard for any movie to catch up to this movie. … This is only the second time a movie has opened this big in December."
The record-setter was "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," the space saga's seventh installment, which debuted to $247.9 million in the U.S. and Canada last December.
Like "The Force Awakens" did in 2015, "Rogue One" could top the box office for the rest of the year, Dergarabedian said.
Set before the events of the original 1977 "Star Wars," it stars Felicity Jones and Diego Luna as leaders of a rebel faction that steals plans for its imperial enemy's master weapon, the Death Star.
"Rogue One" knocked the No. 1 movie for the past three weeks, Disney's "Moana," to a distant second with $11.6 million, followed by "Office Christmas Party" with $8.4 million.
The weekend's other new wide release, the critically panned Will Smith drama "Collateral Beauty," opened in fourth place with $7 million.
"This is one of the most intense marketplaces for movies I've ever seen," Dergarabedian said. "You have a 'Star Wars' movie out there looming like the Death Star over everything, and a really great crop of Oscar contenders that keeps expanding."
Denzel Washington's "Fences" opened in limited release this weekend and expands on Christmas Day. "Manchester by the Sea," ''La La Land" and "Arrival," which all earned awards nominations recently, remain in the box office top 10.
Moviegoers who see "Rogue One" will also get a peek at next year's anticipated blockbusters: Trailers for the new "Guardians of the Galaxy," ''Spider-Man" and "Fast & Furious" films play before the feature.
"Rogue One" is the "perfect lead-in for 2017, which looks absolutely massive," Dergarabedian said.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to comScore. The latest international numbers for Friday through Sunday are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story," $155 million ($290.5 million international).
2. "Moana," $11.66 million ($27.16 million international).
3. "Office Christmas Party," $8.4 million ($17.5 million international).
4. "Collateral Beauty," $7 million ($11.6 million international).
5. "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them," $5 million ($19.5 million international).
6. "Manchester by the Sea," $4.1 million ($4.66 million international).
7. "La La Land," $4 million ($8.7 million international).
8. "Arrival," $2.77 million ($5.97 million international).
9. "Doctor Strange," $2 million ($2.8 million international).
10. "Nocturnal Animals," $1.39 million ($1.99 million international).
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at international theaters (excluding the U.S. and Canada), according to comScore:
1. "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story," $290.5 million.
2. "The Great Wall," $57 million.
3. "Moana," $27.16 million.
4. "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them," $19.5 million.
5. "Office Christmas Party," $17.5 million.
6. "Collateral Beauty," $11.6 million.
7. "Hacksaw Ridge," $9.46 million.
8. "The Wasted Times," $9.1 million.
9. "La La Land," $8.7 million.
10. "Pandora," $7.6 million.
Google Opens Its Defense In Antitrust Case Alleging Monopoly Over Online Ad Technology
Google opened its defense against allegations that it holds an illegal monopoly on online advertising technology Friday with witness testimony saying the industry is vastly more complex and competitive than portrayed by the federal government.
"The industry has been exceptionally fluid over the last 18 years," said Scott Sheffer, a vice president for global partnerships at Google, the company's first witness at its antitrust trial in federal court in Alexandria.
The Justice Department and a coalition of states contend that Google built and maintained an illegal monopoly over the technology that facilitates the buying and selling of online ads seen by consumers.
Google counters that the government's case improperly focuses on a narrow type of online ads — essentially the rectangular ones that appear on the top and on the right-hand side of a webpage. In its opening statement, Google's lawyers said the Supreme Court has warned judges against taking action when dealing with rapidly emerging technology like what Sheffer described because of the risk of error or unintended consequences.
Google says defining the market so narrowly ignores the competition it faces from social media companies, Amazon, streaming TV providers and others who offer advertisers the means to reach online consumers.
Justice Department lawyers called witnesses to testify for two weeks before resting their case Friday afternoon, detailing the ways that automated ad exchanges conduct auctions in a matter of milliseconds to determine which ads are placed in front of which consumers and how much they cost.
The department contends the auctions are finessed in subtle ways that benefit Google to the exclusion of would-be competitors and in ways that prevent... Read More