FREDERIC J. BROWN
Critically acclaimed musical La La Land broke records in its New York and Los Angeles debut, earning $855,000 from just five theaters in the two cities. The $30 million film, which stars Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone, had the best earning average of all time for a prestige title debuting in just five theaters, and it earned the second-best showing for any specialty film in history, just behind Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel. The musical opens in 300 theaters Friday. For the rest of North America, animated musical Moana topped its third weekend at the box office, beating Paramount’s Office Christmas Party. Moana raked in $18.8 million from 3,875 theaters, while the new holiday ensemble comedy earned $17.5 million from 3,210 theaters. Disney’s next Star Wars film, Rogue One, opens around the globe next weekend.