By Canadian Press

Film about 1960s black mathematicians tops MLK weekend

Jan 17, 2017 | 5:45 PM

NEW YORK — “Hidden Figures,” the uplifting film about African-American mathematicians at NASA during the 1960s space race, led the North American box office for the second straight week, selling $27.5 million in tickets over the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend, according to final studio figures Tuesday.

The Fox release, which stars Taraji P. Henson, Janelle Monae and Octavia Spencer, has now made $61.9 million following its two weeks of nationwide release. Holdovers dominated the four-day weekend, while a number of high-profile new wide releases struggled badly.

Ben Affleck’s period crime thriller “Live by Night” managed a feeble $6 million, and Martin Scorsese’s passion project, the Christian epic “Silence,” earned a mere $2.4 million. Paramount’s pricey family film “Monster Trucks,” which cost $125 million, opened with just $14.2 million. In an unprecedented move, Paramount’s corporate parent, Viacom, last year wrote off the film as a $115 million loss.

The top 20 movies at U.S. and Canadian theatres Friday through Monday, followed by distribution studio, gross, number of theatre locations, average receipts per location, total gross and number of weeks in release, as compiled Tuesday by comScore:

1. “Hidden Figures,” 20th Century Fox, $27,506,839, 3,286 locations, $8,371 average, $61,889,939, 4 weeks.

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2. “Sing,” Universal, $19,025,360, 3,693 locations, $5,152 average, $238,240,880, 4 weeks.

3. “La La Land,” Lionsgate, $17,717,720, 1,848 locations, $9,588 average, $77,299,289, 6 weeks.

4. “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” Disney, $16,806,712, 3,162 locations, $5,315 average, $501,898,446, 5 weeks.

5. “The Bye Bye Man,” STX Entertainment, $15,204,094, 2,220 locations, $6,849 average, $15,204,094, 1 week.

6. “Monster Trucks,” Paramount, $14,174,039, 3,119 locations, $4,544 average, $14,174,039, 1 week.

7. “Patriots Day,” Lionsgate, $13,753,384, 3,120 locations, $4,408 average, $14,677,466, 4 weeks.

8. “Sleepless,” Open Road, $9,771,305, 1,803 locations, $5,419 average, $9,771,305, 1 week.

9. “Underworld: Blood Wars,” Sony, $7,263,585, 3,070 locations, $2,366 average, $25,379,703, 2 weeks.

10. “Passengers,” Sony, $6,491,814, 2,447 locations, $2,653 average, $90,871,545, 4 weeks.

11. “Moana,” Disney, $6,104,745, 1,847 locations, $3,305 average, $233,410,870, 8 weeks.

12. “Live by Night,” Warner Bros., $6,003,052, 2,822 locations, $2,127 average, $6,188,696, 4 weeks.

13. “Why Him?” 20th Century Fox, $4,175,449, 1,977 locations, $2,112 average, $56,008,496, 4 weeks.

14. “Fences,” Paramount, $3,513,003, 1,342 locations, $2,618 average, $46,645,365, 5 weeks.

15. “Lion,” The Weinstein Company, $2,772,941, 575 locations, $4,823 average, $13,815,545, 8 weeks.

16. “Silence,” Paramount, $2,374,886, 747 locations, $3,179 average, $3,456,650, 4 weeks.

17. “Manchester by the Sea,” Roadside Attractions, $2,054,178, 726 locations, $2,829 average, $37,215,956, 9 weeks.

18. “Assassin’s Creed,” 20th Century Fox, $1,658,469, 968 locations, $1,713 average, $53,162,110, 4 weeks.

19. “Moonlight,” A24, $1,363,803, 582 locations, $2,343 average, $14,862,562, 13 weeks.

20. “Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them,” Warner Bros., $1,201,902, 502 locations, $2,394 average, $231,073,227, 9 weeks.

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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.

The Associated Press