'Moana's reigns, 'La La Land' sings in limited release
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Disney's "Moana" has continued to sit pretty atop the box office for its third consecutive weekend, but Damien Chazelle's musical "La La Land" was what really had audiences singing this weekend.
Playing in only five theaters, the lively and well-reviewed "La La Land" grossed a staggering $855,000 for Lionsgate, according to studio estimates Sunday.
According to exit polls, 52 percent of audiences were female and 53 percent were over age 30.
The film cost a reported $30 million to make and has been gaining buzz throughout the fall since it premiered at the Venice Film Festival and continued wowing critics and audiences at various other festivals.
Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for box office tracker comScore, called the "La La Land" showing "astounding."
The Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner sci-fi pic "Arrival" held on in fourth with $5.6 million, while Disney and Marvel's "Doctor Strange" added $4.6 million to take fifth place.
The Jessica Chastain lobbying thriller "Miss Sloane," meanwhile, fizzled in its wide expansion, earning $1.9 million from 1,648 locations.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to comScore.
Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at international theaters (excluding the U.S. and Canada), according to comScore:
Universal and Focus are owned by NBC Universal, a unit of Comcast Corp.; Sony, Columbia, Sony Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp.; Paramount is owned by Viacom Inc.; Disney, Pixar and Marvel are owned by The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax is owned by Filmyard Holdings LLC; 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight are owned by 21st Century Fox; Warner Bros. and New Line are units of Time Warner Inc.; MGM is owned by a group of former creditors including Highland Capital, Anchorage Advisors and Carl Icahn; Lionsgate is owned by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.; IFC is owned by AMC Networks Inc.; Rogue is owned by Relativity Media LLC.