'The Last Jedi' tops Christmas box office in North America

THE force was with Disney as the latest Star Wars movie The Last Jedi beat out the competition to top the Christmas weekend box office, according to industry estimates released Sunday.
The eighth installment of the blockbuster space saga topped the charts in North America for a second week, according to box office tracker Exhibitor Relations, pulling in US$68.5 million (RM279 million) to rack up total earnings of US$365 million (RM1.5 billion) since it opened last weekend.
Its triumph echoed last year's Christmas number one, Star Wars: Rogue One, which told the backstory to the original 1977 hit.
The movie has so far netted US$745.4 million (RM3 billion) worldwide, according to industry analyst Paul Dergarabedian, although the record to beat remains 2009's Avatar, which earned US$2.7 billion (RM11 billion).
Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the 2015 predecessor to the The Last Jedi, made just under US$2 billion (RM8 billion).
Christmas week is traditionally a time when studios flood the screens with new releases, and the Star Wars epic was trailed by three new films.
In second place was the Dwayne Johnson family adventure Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle which made US$34 million (RM139 million) for Sony.
Pitch Perfect 3, which follows the continuing adventures of glee singers the Bellas, led by Anna Kendrick, was in third, earning US$20.5 million (RM84 million) for Universal.
That was followed by The Greatest Showman, a musical in which Hugh Jackman plays the legendary circus impresario PT Barnum. That earned US$8.6 million (RM35 million) over the three-day weekend period.
Animated feature Ferdinand, the story of a pacifist bull forced to face down the greatest bullfighter in the world, was fifth. It netted weekend receipts of US$7 million (RM29 million) in the United States and Canada in its second week. — AFP
Rounding out the top ten were:
Coco ($5.2 million) (RM21 million)
Downsizing ($4.6 million) (RM19 million)
Darkest Hour ($4.1 million) (RM17 million)
Father Figures ($3.2 million) (RM13 million)
The Shape of Water ($3.1 million) (RM13 million)