"Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" premiered on December 16, 2016, and the first preview tally already garnered a total of $30 million in sales. Hence, they have topped the box office rankings for this month, with more than $150 million in sales estimated on December 18.

From $30 million on Thursday, their sales doubled to $71.1 million on Friday. As detailed by a Movie Web data report, "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" received more than 80% positive reviews from two noteworthy online sources, namely Rotten Tomatoes and ComScore PostTrak. Despite having a female protagonist, 94% to 75% of the audience are comprised of adult male viewers.

Behind the shadow of "Force Awakens"

"Rogue One" may have reached the top in recent records but when compared to its predecessor, "Star Wars: The Force Awakens", this latest installment did not hold a candle. Last year, the Thursday premiere of "Force Awakens" collected a whopping $57 million. It garnered a total of $247.96 million in sales following its final weekend premier. Realistically speaking, "Rogue One" still could not best its predecessor in terms of sales and viewership.

Curiously, "Rogue One" sports a grittier theme that sets it apart from other films in the extensive "Star Wars" franchise. The subversive premise never failed to attract negative attention, even up to the point of provoking certain groups to call for a boycott, as reported by Jobs & Hire.  

The Rankings

Here are the top 5 highest-grossing films as of December 17, as itemized by Deadline: "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" earns a total of $71.1 million as of Friday. On the same day, "Moana" garnered a sum of $3 million since its November 23 US release. Third place is given to "Office Christmas Party" following its December 5 premiere with $2.4 million in tow. 

Will Smith's drama "Collateral Beauty" earned a total of $2.38 million, positioning itself as fourth place in the list. Lastly, Albus Dumbledore's close friend, Newt Scamander, worked his magic in the "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them", landing him all the way to fifth ranking with $1.36 million since its November 18 US and UK release.