Steven Spielberg’s “The Post” has debuted strongly in its platform opening with $495,000 at nine sites for Friday-Sunday for an impressive $55,000 per location average.

“The Post,” starring Tom Hanks as Ben Bradlee and Meryl Streep as Katherine Graham, is projected to take in another $215,000 on Christmas Day on Monday for a $720,000 four-day domestic total for Fox. The film — playing at three Los Angeles locations, three in New York City and three in the Washington, D.C., area — will go into wide release on Jan. 12.

The National Board of Review has named “The Post” as the best film of 2017 with Hanks and Streep taking the top acting awards. The film also received six Golden Globe nominations.

“The Post” centers on the 1971 legal battle faced by The Washington Post over publication of the Pentagon Papers, which provided previously undisclosed details over the involvement of the U.S. government in the Vietnam War. The cast includes Alison Brie, Carrie Coon, David Cross, Bruce Greenwood, Tracy Letts, Bob Odenkirk, Sarah Paulson, Jesse Plemons, Matthew Rhys, Michael Stuhlbarg, Bradley Whitford and Zach Woods.

The launch for “The Post” represents the seventh-best average per screen opening of 2017. “Call Me By Your Name” posted the best average for a three-day limited opening of the year during the Nov. 24-26 weekend with $412,932 at four locations for a per-screen of $103,233 for Sony Classics.

A24’s “Lady Bird” had the second best opening during the Nov. 3-5 frame with $364,437 at four sites for a $91,109 average, followed by Focus Features’ “The Shape of Water” with $166,564 at two venues during Dec. 1-3 for an $83,282 per-screen average. Fox Searchlight’s “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” debuted with $322,168 at four screens on Nov. 17-19 for an $80,542 average.

Neon-30West’s launch of “I, Tonya” took in $264,155 at four sites on Dec. 8-10 for a $66,039 average and A24’s opening of “The Disaster Artist” launched with $1.2 million at 19 locations on Dec. 1-3 for a per-screen figure of $63,755.