Disney rang in the new year by putting an exclamation point on their incredible 2016 at the box office.
By the time the clock struck midnight on Saturday night the studio's latest "Star Wars" release, "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story," became the second-highest grossing movie of the year at the domestic box office with a $408.96 million total, according to Deadline. That beats out "Captain America: Civil War," which took in $408.084 million.
But "Rogue One" isn't through. Winning the weekend box office for a third consecutive week with an estimated $50 million ($64 million by the end of the New Year's holiday weekend), according to Variety, the first standalone "Star Wars" movie should pass 2016's top-grossing movie at the domestic box office, "Finding Dory" ($486.2 million), sometime during the first week of 2017.
Disney now has the top three box office earners of 2016.
Coming in second place is the latest animated movie by the creators of "Despicable Me,""Sing," which took in and estimated $41 million ($54 million for four-day). The movie has quietly been the go-to title for kids who are a little too young for the mature material in "Rogue One." Having brought in an estimated $170 million-plus total domestically, it proves that animated movies continues to be a draw for moviegoers both young and old.
Outside of "Rogue One," the other big box office story going into 2017 is the success of Oscar contender "La La Land."
The modern-day musical starring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone, which has already become the top-grossing limited release of the year with over $37 million (for movies shown in under 1,000 theaters, passing "Hell or High Water"), cracked the top ten this weekend as it's projected to make $12 million by Monday.
As it moves into a wider release, look for this one to continue to find audiences as we go deeper into awards season.
SEE ALSO: Here are the must-see movies that are going to win Oscars in 2017
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