'Rogue One' steals away with $155 million at the domestic box office

Give a lot of credits to "Rogue One" -- about $143 million of them.

IMAGE: DISNEY/LUCASFILM

The Force Awakens, it was not — but Rogue One got away clean with $155 million at the North American box office this weekend, a robust start that guarantees the first Star Wars "story" will not be the last.

The $155 million figure makes Rogue One the third highest grossing domestic weekend opener of 2016, behind Captain America: Civil War ($179 million) and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice ($166 million). It's also the 12th highest bow of all time, sandwiched between The Hunger Games: Catching Fire ($147 million in 2013) and The Hunger Games ($152 million in 2012).

Mark this down as a not overly spectacular — but certainly robustly good-enough — launch for Disney's plan to annualize its Star Wars franchise entries, including stand-alone "stories" that don't quite factor into the central Skywalker saga.

Throw in other X-factors like new/unfamiliar characters, a female lead in Felicity Jones and a production that saw the studio seize control from director Gareth Edwards for a series of spendy reshoots — just part of the process folks, not the controversy you're looking for, move along — and it's safe to say that Rogue One's mission was a success.

Worldwide, Rogue One took in $290.5 million for the three-day frame, according to studio estimates obtained by Mashable on Sunday.

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'Rogue One' steals away with $155 million at the domestic box office

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