On This Day - December 16

← December 15 Day Index December 17 →

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 $688,809,501
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 $688,809,501
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 $688,809,501
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 89 this year), Liv Ullmann (1938, turns 88 this year), Lesley Stahl (1941, turns 85 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 82 this year), Tom Stern (1946, turns 80 this year), Charles Dennis (1946, turns 80 this year), Benny Andersson (1946, turns 80 this year), Terence Knox (1946, turns 80 this year), Ben Cross (1947, turns 79 this year), Larry Brand (1949, died on February 9, 2019 at the age of 69), Billy F. Gibbons (1949, turns 77 this year), Allan Graf (1949, turns 77 this year), Ivan Ivanov (1951, died on January 31, 2024 at the age of 72), Xander Berkeley (1955, turns 71 this year), Larry Poindexter (1959, turns 67 this year), Jon Tenney (1961, turns 65 this year), LaChanze (1961, turns 65 this year), Bill Hicks (1961, died on February 26, 1994 at the age of 32), Shane Black (1961, turns 65 this year), Sam Robards (1961, turns 65 this year), Gretchen Palmer (1961, turns 65 this year), Maruschka Detmers (1962, turns 64 this year), James Mangold (1963, turns 63 this year), Benjamin Bratt (1963, turns 63 this year), Jeff Carson (1963, died on March 26, 2022 at the age of 58), Todd Glass (1964, turns 62 this year), J.B. Smoove (1965, turns 61 this year), Miranda Otto (1967, turns 59 this year), Kathleen Marshall (1967, turns 59 this year), Peter Dante (1968, turns 58 this year), Florencia Lozano (1969, turns 57 this year), Daniel Cosgrove (1970, turns 56 this year), Lisa Spoonauer (1972, died on May 20, 2017 at the age of 44), Paul Leyden (1972, turns 54 this year), Luisa Ranieri (1973, turns 53 this year), Earl C. Poitier (1974, turns 52 this year), Jonathan Scarfe (1975, turns 51 this year), Tony Christian (1975, turns 51 this year), Joe Absolom (1978, turns 48 this year), Scott Bailey (1978, turns 48 this year), Michael Jibson (1980, turns 46 this year), Krysten Ritter (1981, turns 45 this year), Theo James (1984, turns 42 this year), Hallee Hirsh (1987, turns 39 this year), Anna Popplewell (1988, turns 38 this year), Stephanie Pearson (1988, turns 38 this year), Stephan James (1993, turns 33 this year), Bryce Robinson (1999, turns 27 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), Gil Gerard (2025, at the age of 82), Norman Podhoretz (2025, at the age of 95)

Note: The charts on this page are not adjusted for inflation.