Over Friday to Sunday, Rogue One grossed £13.22m, while Fantastic Beasts’ three-day debut was £15.33m.
A similar trajectory would take Rogue One to £63m – almost certainly ahead of Fantastic Beasts, and thus the biggest release of 2016.
With a UK debut of £17.31m for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Disney was quick to trumpet the result as the biggest opening of 2016 as well as the second biggest December opening, behind last year’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
The arrival of Rogue One in multiple screens at most of its 698 locations had a devastating impact on other recent releases.