LOS ANGELES: Disney’s “Frozen 2″ stuffed the box office competition during Thanksgiving, generating $85.2 million over the weekend and a record-setting $123.7 million over the five-day holiday frame.
The animated adventure soared past the previous Thanksgiving benchmark held by 2013’s
“The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” and its $109 million bounty between the Wednesday and Sunday holiday frame.
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Like, “Frozen 2,” the “Hunger Games” sequel opened a week ahead of Thanksgiving.
After two weekends in theaters, “Frozen 2″ is nearing the $300 million mark in North America with ticket sales currently at a massive $287 million.
“Frozen 2″ made $130 million in its inaugural outing, cementing a new high-water mark for Disney Animation.
Though “Frozen 2″ earned a turkey’s share of grosses, two new movies successfully served as counter-programming against Disney’s all-audience tentpole and carved out solid box office receipts.
Propelled by critical raves and audience adoration to match, Lionsgate’s “Knives Out,” a murder mystery directed by Rian Johnson, launched ahead of expectations.
Securing second place on domestic charts with $27 million over the weekend and $41.7 million between Wednesday and Sunday.
Heading into the weekend, the whodunit starring Daniel Craig, Jamie Lee Curtis and Chris Evans was projected to earn $20 million to $25 million in its first five days of release.
The movie cost $40 million and looks to be a triumph for original content at multiplexes.
Fellow new release, Universal and Makeready’s “Queen and Slim,” looks to be another win in favor of original fare.
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The romantic drama starring Daniel Kaluuya and Jodie Turner-Smith opened at No. 5, collecting $11.7 million over the weekend and $15.8 million over the five-day holiday period.
Directed by Melina Matsoukas and written by Lena Waithe, “Queen and Slim” carries a roughly $20 million price tag. Over 50% of opening weekend crowds were African America, while 24% were Caucasian, 15% were Hispanic and 3% were Asian.
More than 60% of ticket buyers were over the age of 25.
Holdovers including Disney-Fox’s “Ford v Ferrari” and Sony’s “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood.”
Matt Damon and Christian Bale’s sports drama, now in its third outing, earned $13 million over the weekend and $19 million during the five-days, propelling its domestic tally to $81 million.
Tom Hanks’ feel-good film about Mister Rogers made $12 million over the traditional weekend and $17.6 million over the holidays.
After two weeks of release, “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” has generated $34 million.
While this Thanksgiving didn’t best last year’s $315 million benchmark, the holiday is already helping offset what has otherwise been a bleak November at the box office.
Heading into the long weekend, overall ticket sales were behind over 7%, according to Comscore. Now, box office receipts are down by 5.6%.
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