‘Rogue One’ and ‘Sing’ leave little room for other passengers at the box office

So much for there being a lot of space in the galaxy.

“Rogue One”” quashed most movie rebellions Friday, while Universal was whistling a happy tune with “Sing,” as the two films are dominating all wide releases this holiday weekend.

In its second weekend of release, “Rogue One” took in about $20 million Friday, putting it in line for as much as $110 million for the four-day period that includes the official Christmas holiday on Monday. The Gareth Edwards “Star Wars” spinoff has been a powerhouse for Disney, now taking in $245 million in the U.S. and an additional $197 million around the world.

“Sing,” an animated musical voiced by the likes of Matthew McConaughey and Reese Witherspoon, is proving to be the only new, wide release that can hold its ground against the Rebel forces. After a $13-million Friday, the movie is on track for a four-day total of $55 million, adding to its combined $20 million from Wednesday and Thursday. The number puts Universal and production company Illumination Entertainment in a good place with the family film, which is estimated to have cost $75 million to produce.

The two major live-action openings this weekend — also science-fiction-oriented — are both struggling, quieting hopes of a “Star Wars” halo effect.

Morten Tyldum’s “Passengers,” which has Jennifer Lawrence and Christ Pratt on a deep-space adventure, took in $4.5 million Friday for what likely will be just over $20 million for the four-day weekend, in addition to its $7 million total from Wednesday and Thursday. The Sony film cost more than $100 million to produce.

The Fox release “Assassin’s Creed,” in which Michael Fassbender both stars and makes his debut as a producer, tallied less than $4 million Friday and is pegged for just $13 million for the four-day weekend, in addition to the $8 million it collected from Wednesday and Thursday. Those numbers are disappointing given both the name recognition of the title (it comes from one of the most successful modern video-game franchises) and the film’s budget (the New Regency-financed movie cost as much as $125 million to make).

Neither “Passengers” nor “Assassin’s Creed” has given indications it will have a long box-office life, garnering a B and B+ CinemaScore, respectively.

In likely fifth place for the weekend, “Why Him?,” the lower-budget comedy counterprogramming starring Bryan Cranston and James Franco, seems to be performing slightly better relative to expectations: It took in just under $4 million Friday for a projected four-day total of $15 million.

At a roughly $40-million budget, the film aims to emulate the success of past Christmas-weekend comedies including 2012’s “The Guilt Trip” ($77 million) and 2015’s “Daddy’s Home” ($150 million), though unlike those films, “Why Him?” must contend with an R rating.

Both “Assassin’s Creed” and “Passengers” seem to be hurt by the black hole created by “Rogue One” and middling reviews, a difficult combination. It is worth noting that “Rogue One” opened on about 30% more screens than either of those films, both reason for and a symptom of the challenges they face.

The “Star Wars” picture has been a box-office juggernaut since opening Dec. 15 and is expected to have surpassed $300 million domestically by the end of Monday. That will put it just ahead of 2016’s current top-grosser at a comparable stage of release: By the end of its second Monday, “Finding Dory” had taken in $296 million on its way to a lifetime domestic total of $486 million.

“Rogue One,” a prequel starring Felicity Jones, Donnie Yen and Riz Ahmed, is nonetheless well off the pace of last year’s J.J. Abrams relaunch “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” which had garnered $571 million domestically by the end of its second Monday.

Last year also saw far fewer studios willing to challenge the “Star Wars” behemoth: There was only one big-budget new release, “Point Break,” which underperformed. Instead, lower-budget comedies and dramas dotted the three-day Christmas weekend, with the odd-couple “Daddy’s Home” tallying the best result at $38 million.

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