“Hidden Figures” Dominates MLK Weekend Earning $26M and #1 Box Office Ranking for 2nd Week

Fox 2000 and Chernin Entertainment’s “Hidden Figures” dominated the domestic box office, topping charts for the second straight weekend after …

(PHOTO COURTESY FOX 2000)

article by Brent Lang via Variety.com

Fox 2000 and Chernin Entertainment’s “Hidden Figures” dominated the domestic box office, topping charts for the second straight weekend after earning $26 million. The film’s message of empowerment and triumph over prejudice was amplified by the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend.

“This continues to be a movie for everyone,” said Chris Aronson, Fox’s head of domestic distribution. “It’s not just entertaining. It’s life affirming. It celebrates the triumph of the human spirit and that’s so important in these times.”

“Hidden Figures” is a latecomer to the awards season race, but the film, which stars Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monae as African-American scientists and mathematicians in the early days of the space program, ranks as one of the most successful dramas of 2016. So far, it has earned $60.4 million. That commercial success could translate into Oscar attention when Academy Award nominations are announced next week.

It will likely face fierce competition from “La La Land,” a critically beloved movie musical with Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling. Fresh off its sweep of the Golden Globe awards, “La La Land” sang and danced its way to $17.5 million over the holiday period, good enough for a third place finish. That brings the Lionsgate release’s domestic total to $77 million and more than $132 million globally.

To read full article, go to: http://variety.com/2017/film/box-office/hidden-figures-box-office-live-by-night-monster-trucks-silence-1201961015/