With the newcomers failing to make much of an impact, M. Night Shyamalan's resurgence continued at the box office this week.
Repeating in the top spot is Split, which grossed $26.2 million in its second weekend. That is just a 34.3 percent drop-off from its debut, indicating that it's been the recipient of strong word-of-mouth since it opened. Moviegoers have spent the last week discussing the movie's twists and what they mean, making Split something of a must-see in theaters. The thriller is now up to $77.9 million domestically and $101.6 million worldwide, meaning Shyamalan should be able to make the sequel he's currently writing soon.
Debuting in second is A Dog's Purpose with $18.3 million. The family film was hoping to do a little better, but it faced a number of roadblocks that it could not overcome. First, a week before the premiere, video of what looked to be animal abuse on-set went viral online, prompting boycotts of the movie from animal rights activists. Secondly, A Dog's Purpose was widely panned by critics, hurting its overall appeal. The family demographic has been largely underserved sine the holiday season passed, but there still wasn't enough interest to get it to #1. It will be interesting to see how it holds up in the coming weeks. February 10 sees the release of The LEGO Batman Movie, which is tracking well and will be targeting families as well.
Coming in third once more is Hidden Figures. The Oscar-nominated drama brought in $14 million over the weekend, raising its domestic total to an impressive $104 million.
Opening in fourth is Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (read our review) with $13.8 million. That is by far the franchise's lowest debut in the United States, coming in at more than $4 million less than the original installment from 2002. Despite the billing of this being the endgame, The Final Chapter was unable to break out of its niche and appealed solely to the hardcore fans who have been with the series from the beginning. If there is a bright spot for Sony, it's that the film has made $78.3 million globally, so it's already made back its $40 million production budget. Still, interest is low and it's unlikely The Final Chapter will have strong legs.
Rounding out the top five is La La Land. The awards season darling and Oscar frontrunner (which just picked up Best Picture from the PGA) made $12 million in its eighth weekend, increasing its domestic total to $106.5 million.
Coming in sixth is xXx: Return of Xander Cage with $8.2 million. The action sequel is now up to $33.4 million Stateside.
Sing finishes in seventh, grossing $6.2 million over the weekend. Illumination's latest smash raised its domestic total to $257.4 million and is now firmly entrenched in the 10th spot on 2016's domestic charts.
In eighth is Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, which brought in $5.1 million in its seventh weekend. Lucasfilm's spinoff is now up to $520 million domestically.
The #9 film of the week is Monster Trucks. Paramount's infamous box office bomb made $4.1 million to increase its domestic total to $28.1 million.
Capping off the top ten is Gold, the new drama starring Matthew McConaughey. The true story film made just $3.4 million in its first three days, a byproduct of its mostly negative reviews.
[NOTE: These are only weekend box office estimates -- based on Friday and Saturday ticket sales coupled with adjusted expectations for Sunday. Official weekend box office results will be released on Monday, January 30 -- at which time we'll update this post with any changes.]
Source: Box Office Mojo