'Moana' Continues Box Office Domination, 'La La Land' Surprises

LOS ANGELES, CA -- Disney's "Moana" kept on churning in its third week in release, outpacing the premiere of the raunchy comedy "Office Christmas Party" to claim the top spot at the North American box office this weekend.

"Moana" took in $18.5 million in theaters in the United States and Canada, just ahead of "Office Christmas Party" and its $16.9 million debut, according to final weekend figures released Monday by comScore.

"Moana" has made $144.7 million in the North American market so far.

The Harry Potter-inspired "Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them" was in third place last weekend with $10.4 million in its fourth week of release. Next was "Arrival" with $5.5 million in its fifth week of release. And in fifth place was "Doctor Strange," with a $4.5 million weekend and $222.2 million amassed over five weeks.

Rounding out the 10 most-popular movies this week were "Allied" ($3.9 million), "Nocturnal Animals" ($3.1 million), "Manchester By The Sea" ($3.1 million), "Trolls" ($3 million) and "Hacksaw Ridge" ($2.3 million).

But the big news at the box office was the record set for a limited release by an old-fashioned musical love story. "La La Land" opened in just five theaters and sold $881,000 in tickets.

"A mind-blowing, record smashing per theater average of $171,000," gushed movie analyst Paul Dergarabedian.

"If this is any indication of the film's future prospects, then this is just the start of what looks to be an amazing run for director Damien Chazelle's masterpiece, starring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone," Dergarabedian said.

"La La Land" won the best picture award at Sunday night's Critics' Choice Awards in Santa Monica. It also received a leading seven nominations this morning for the 74th annual Golden Globe Awards.

-- City News Service, photo courtesy of Disney