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PEOPLE & ARTS A29
Monday 4 January 2016
‘Star Wars’ box office surpasses ‘Titanic,’ ‘Jurassic World’
LINDSEY BAHR strong performers. This photo provided by Disney/Lucasfilm shows stormtroopers in a scene from the new film, “Star
AP Film Writer “Daddy’s Home,” the com- Wars: The Force Awakens.”
LOS ANGELES (AP) — “Star edy starring Will Ferrell and
Wars: The Force Awakens” Mark Wahlberg, came in (Film Frame/Lucasfilm via AP)
marched confidently into second with an estimated
the new year, raking in $29 million, bringing its total its first weekend in wide re- “There is still a big audience as it expands.”
an additional $88.3 million to $93.7 million in just two lease after a strong limited out there for auteur-driven “Alvin and the Chipmunks:
over the New Year’s week- weeks. The film fell only 25 debut. The three-hour epic, cinema,” Dergarabedian The Road Chip” took fifth
end and topping the box percent from its first week- which cost a reported $44 said. “Tarantino, no matter place with $11.8 million,
office for a third week, ac- end in theaters. Even more million to produce, has what, is an interesting film- dropping only 10 percent
cording to studio estimates formidable is the mere made $29.6 million to date maker. Film fans want to from last weekend.
Sunday. 11 percent drop from the — just shy of what “Django see what he’s up to. It’s not The year is off to a strong
In addition to setting a new Tina Fey and Amy Poehler Unchained” made in its first as big as some of his other start overall, up 24.5 per-
high mark in New Year’s box comedy “Sisters,” which weekend. films, but it’s still doing well cent from last year. q
office history, the record- brought in $12.6 million in its
busting film blew past the third weekend for a fourth-
domestic grosses of both place spot. The film has
“Jurassic World” ($652.3 mil- earned $61.7 so far.
lion) and “Titanic” ($658.7 “When you look at the
million) to become the sec- holding power of ‘Dad-
ond-highest earner of all dy’s Home’ and ‘Sisters,’ it
time with $740.3 million in shows you that those films
just 19 days of release. The are for many people the
top domestic film is “Ava- antidote to ‘Star Wars,’”
tar” with a $760.5 million said Paul Dergarabedian,
lifetime domestic gross, but a senior media analyst for
“Star Wars” is barreling in to box office tracker Rentrak.
surpass it soon. For context, “The diversity of the slate
it took “Avatar” 72 days to that the studios created
reach $700 million. “Star by not retreating from ‘Star
Wars” did that in 16 days. Wars’ is helping.”
While “Star Wars” might not Quentin Tarantino’s bloody
give up its throne any time Western “The Hateful
soon, films like “Daddy’s Eight,” meanwhile, took
Home” and “Sisters” have third with $16.2 million in
proven to be incredibly
‘Game of Thrones’ author blogs
that he missed book deadline
VERENA DOBNIK written, Martin said he esti-
Associated Press mates it will still take months
NEW YORK (AP) — For fans more if the writing goes
of George R.R. Martin, win- well.
ter is not coming — at least “You can blame my trav-
not right away. els or my blog posts or the
The “Game of Thrones” au- distractions of other proj-
thor says he missed a Dec. ects and the Cocteau and
31 deadline to finish “The whatever, but maybe all
Winds of Winter,” the sixth that had an impact,” he
book in his popular fantasy wrote, referring to the sin-
series. That means the next gle-screen Jean Cocteau
HBO season based on the Cinema he purchased and
novel will start airing in April, fixed up in Santa Fe, New
before the book is pub- Mexico, where he lives.
lished. “For months now I have
The words “you won’t like wanted nothing so much
it” appeared Saturday on as to be able to say, ‘I have
Martin’s blog, reporting completed and delivered
that “the book’s not done. ‘The Winds of Winter’ on
... I tried, I promise you. I or before the last day of
failed.” 2015,” the 67-year-old au-
Martin says he is working thor blogged.
with HBO to ensure the The truth is “sometimes
show reflects the next in- the writing goes well and
stallment of the “A Song sometimes it doesn’t, and
of Ice and Fire” books — in that was true for me even
which characters warn of when I was in my 20s,” he
impending doom with the wrote. Messages left at
phrase “Winter is coming.” Martin’s office and the cin-
With hundreds of pages ema were not immediately
and dozens of chapters returned. q
