On This Day - December 16
Record Day
The chart below contains the top 10 movies based on daily domestic revenue recorded on December 16.
| Year | Title | Day of Week |
Day | Domestic Box Office |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Rogue One: A Star Wars Story | Friday | $71,094,394 | $533,539,991 |
| 2017 | Star Wars Ep. VIII: The Last Jedi | Saturday | $63,993,205 | $620,181,382 |
| 2022 | Avatar: The Way of Water | Friday | $53,200,270 | $684,075,767 |
| 2012 | The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey | Sunday | $19,751,941 | $303,003,568 |
| 2007 | I am Legend | Sunday | $18,356,821 | $256,393,010 |
| 2011 | Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows | Friday | $14,607,982 | $186,848,418 |
| 2005 | King Kong | Friday | $14,468,240 | $218,080,025 |
| 2023 | Wonka | Saturday | $14,025,741 | $218,581,815 |
| 2000 | What Women Want | Saturday | $13,250,000 | $182,805,123 |
| 2007 | Alvin and the Chipmunks | Sunday | $12,122,872 | $217,326,974 |
Record Opening Day
The chart below contains the top movies based on domestic opening day on December 16.
| Year | Title | Day of Week |
Opening Day |
Domestic Box Office |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Rogue One: A Star Wars Story | Friday | $71,094,394 | $533,539,991 |
| 2022 | Avatar: The Way of Water | Friday | $53,200,270 | $684,075,767 |
| 2011 | Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows | Friday | $14,607,982 | $186,848,418 |
| 2011 | Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked | Friday | $6,706,964 | $133,107,389 |
| 2011 | Mission: Impossible—Ghost Protocol | Friday | $4,102,843 | $209,397,903 |
| 2005 | The Family Stone | Friday | $4,033,963 | $60,062,868 |
| 2016 | Collateral Beauty | Friday | $2,394,692 | $31,016,021 |
| 2016 | Fences | Friday | $41,254 | $57,682,904 |
| 2009 | Crazy Heart | Wednesday | $12,657 | $39,471,742 |
| 2016 | Neruda | Friday | $8,070 | $939,099 |
Record Weekend
The chart below contains the top 10 movies based on domestic revenue recorded on a weekend where Friday, Saturday or Sunday was December 16.
| Year | Title | Weekend | Domestic Box Office |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Star Wars Ep. VIII: The Last Jedi | $220,009,584 | $620,181,382 |
| 2016 | Rogue One: A Star Wars Story | $155,081,681 | $533,539,991 |
| 2022 | Avatar: The Way of Water | $134,100,226 | $684,075,767 |
| 2012 | The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey | $84,617,303 | $303,003,568 |
| 2007 | I am Legend | $77,211,321 | $256,393,010 |
| 2005 | King Kong | $50,130,145 | $218,080,025 |
| 2007 | Alvin and the Chipmunks | $44,307,417 | $217,326,974 |
| 2011 | Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows | $39,637,079 | $186,848,418 |
| 2023 | Wonka | $39,005,800 | $218,581,815 |
| 2018 | Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse 3D | $35,363,376 | $190,173,195 |
Born and Died
Born on this day in history: Edward Lewis (1919, died on July 27, 2019 at the age of 99), Philip K. Dick (1928, died on March 2, 1982 at the age of 53), Joyce Bulifant (1937, turns 88 this year), Liv Ullmann (1938, turns 87 this year), Lesley Stahl (1941, turns 84 this year), Patti Deutsch (1943, died on July 26, 2017 at the age of 73), Steven Bochco (1943, died on April 1, 2018 at the age of 74), Jeff Kanew (1944, turns 81 this year), Tom Stern (1946, turns 79 this year), Charles Dennis (1946, turns 79 this year), Benny Andersson (1946, turns 79 this year), Terence Knox (1946, turns 79 this year), Ben Cross (1947, turns 78 this year), Larry Brand (1949, died on February 9, 2019 at the age of 69), Billy F. Gibbons (1949, turns 76 this year), Allan Graf (1949, turns 76 this year), Ivan Ivanov (1951, died on January 31, 2024 at the age of 72), Xander Berkeley (1955, turns 70 this year), Larry Poindexter (1959, turns 66 this year), Jon Tenney (1961, turns 64 this year), LaChanze (1961, turns 64 this year), Bill Hicks (1961, died on February 26, 1994 at the age of 32), Shane Black (1961, turns 64 this year), Sam Robards (1961, turns 64 this year), Gretchen Palmer (1961, turns 64 this year), Maruschka Detmers (1962, turns 63 this year), James Mangold (1963, turns 62 this year), Benjamin Bratt (1963, turns 62 this year), Jeff Carson (1963, died on March 26, 2022 at the age of 58), Todd Glass (1964, turns 61 this year), J.B. Smoove (1965, turns 60 this year), Miranda Otto (1967, turns 58 this year), Kathleen Marshall (1967, turns 58 this year), Peter Dante (1968, turns 57 this year), Florencia Lozano (1969, turns 56 this year), Daniel Cosgrove (1970, turns 55 this year), Lisa Spoonauer (1972, died on May 20, 2017 at the age of 44), Paul Leyden (1972, turns 53 this year), Earl C. Poitier (1974, turns 51 this year), Jonathan Scarfe (1975, turns 50 this year), Tony Christian (1975, turns 50 this year), Joe Absolom (1978, turns 47 this year), Scott Bailey (1978, turns 47 this year), Michael Jibson (1980, turns 45 this year), Krysten Ritter (1981, turns 44 this year), Theo James (1984, turns 41 this year), Hallee Hirsh (1987, turns 38 this year), Anna Popplewell (1988, turns 37 this year), Stephanie Pearson (1988, turns 37 this year), Stephan James (1993, turns 32 this year), Bryce Robinson (1999, turns 26 this year)
Died on this day in history: Peter Collinson (1980, at the age of 44), Lee Van Cleef (1989, at the age of 64), Silvana Mangano (1989, at the age of 59), Moses Gunn (1993, at the age of 64), Roy Brocksmith (2001, at the age of 56), John Spencer (2005, at the age of 58), Nicol Williamson (2011, at the age of 73), Axel Anderson (2012, at the age of 83), Peter Larkin (2019, at the age of 83)
Note: The charts on this page are not adjusted for inflation.