With two new wide openers debuting over the long Thanksgiving weekend, Frozen 2 predictably held on to the No. 1 spot with an estimated $85.2 million over the three-day period and $123.7 million over the five-day, breaking the previous Thanksgiving weekend record set by The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, which took in $74.1 million over the three-day period and $109.9 million over the five-day in 2013. But the Disney blockbuster wasn’t the only successful performer this weekend, as newcomers Knives Out and Queen & Slim both overperformed in their respective debuts while holdovers A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood and Ford v. Ferrari enjoyed strong holds over the holiday frame.
Following its record-breaking $130.2 million debut last weekend, Frozen 2 eased just 34% from last weekend’s three-day period, bringing the total for the animated sequel to a spectacular $287.6 million after just ten days of release. This weekend’s drop is about on par with other blockbuster animated follow-ups Finding Dory and Toy Story 3, both of which dipped by roughly the same percentage in their sophomore frames. With a full month of play left before the end of the year, Frozen 2 is on course to easily surpass the $400.7 million total of the first film.
Making a strong second place debut in 3,461 locations (3,391 on Wednesday and Thursday) was Knives Out, the Agatha Christie-inspired whodunnit boasting a starry cast including Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Jamie Lee Curtis, Toni Collette and Michael Shannon. The Lionsgate title wildly overperformed with an estimated $27 million over the three-day period and $41.7 million over the five day including over $2 million in sneak previews last weekend – leaps and bounds ahead of the studio’s prediction heading into the weekend (they had it debuting in the low $20 millions) and even the less-conservative estimates of box office pundits. The film benefitted from terrific reviews (it currently sits at 96% on Rotten Tomatoes), an aggressive and well-calibrated marketing campaign and the promise of a fun, adult romp that served as an enticing alternative for audiences without kids in tow (68% of the opening weekend audience was over the age of 25). Impressively, the midrange film from director Rian Johnson has already surpassed its reported $40 million budget.
Finishing in third place was Ford v. Ferrari, which dipped a scant 16% to an estimated $13.2 million over the three-day period and $19 million over the five-day in its third weekend of release. The total for the well-reviewed, crowd-pleasing Fox title (released by Disney) now stands at a solid $81 million, with a lot of road left yet in the holiday season.
Fourth place went to A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, which dipped just 10% from its $13.2 million debut last weekend to an estimated $11.8 million over the three-day period and $17.2 million over the five day. The Sony release – which stars Tom Hanks as children’s TV icon Mister Rogers – has been the recipient of excellent reviews and, with its heart-warming premise and beloved star, was well-positioned to benefit from the family-oriented holiday frame.
The weekend’s other wide release, Universal drama Queen & Slim, finished at the high end of expectations in fifth place with an estimated $11.7 million over the three-day period and $15.8 million over the five-day in 1,690 locations (1,625 on Wednesday and Thursday) – much better than the low-teen millions the studio predicted. Centering on a man and woman (Daniel Kaluuya and newcomer Jodie Turner-Smith) who run afoul of the law after killing a racist police officer in self-defense at the tail end of their first date, the film captured something in the zeitgeist with its politically-charged racial themes as well as the allure of two black women (director Melina Matsoukas and screenwriter Lena Waithe) as the film’s creative leads. It also nabbed very good reviews (84% on Rotten Tomatoes) and also may have benefitted from word-of-mouth if its A- Cinemascore from opening-day audiences is any indication. Over half the opening-weekend audience was African-American (54%), while there was almost an even split between women (51%) and men (49%).
In sixth place was 21 Bridges, the STX action-thriller starring Chadwick Boseman that opened to a disappointing $9.2 million last weekend. With an estimated $5.8 million over the three-day period – a drop of 37% from last weekend – and $7.9 million over the five-day, the total for the $33 million-budgeted film now stands at $19.4 million after ten days of release.
Seventh place went to Paramount’s family comedy Playing With Fire, which pulled in an estimated $4.2 million over the three-day period and $6 million over the five-day to bring its total to $39.2 million through the end of its fourth weekend. Following closely behind was Lionsgate’s Midway, which grossed an estimated $3.9 million three-day and $5.7 million five-day for a total of $50.2 million through the end of its fourth weekend.
Rounding out the Top 10 were Last Christmas and Joker, which took in an estimated $2.03 million and $1.98 million over the three-day period, respectively, and an estimated $2.9 million and $2.84 million over the five-day. The Warner Bros.’ blockbuster comic-book thriller now has an estimated $330.6 through the end of its ninth weekend while the Universal rom-com has $31.6 million through the end of its fourth.
Limited Release:
Focus Features and Participant Media’s Dark Waters expanded to 94 screens and brought in an estimated $630K over the three-day period and $860K over the five-day. The acclaimed legal thriller starring Mark Ruffalo and Anne Hathaway now has $977K and will expand nationwide next weekend.
Overseas Update:
Frozen 2 brought in an estimated $164 million overseas in its sophomore frame, another phenomenal showing that lifted its international tally to $451 million and its global cume to $738.6 million. Country totals to date include $90.5 million in China, $61.2 million in Korea, $38.3 million in Japan and $35 million in the U.K.
Knives Out grossed an estimated $28.3 million from 53 international markets this weekend, lifting its global launch to an excellent $70 million. The top overseas market was China, where the film finished in third place with an estimated $13.5 million.
Sunday’s Studio Weekend Estimates (Domestic)
FRI, NOV. 29 – SUN, DEC. 1
| # | TITLE | WEEKEND | LOCATIONS | AVG. | TOTAL | WKS. | DIST. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Frozen II | $85,250,000 | -35% | 4,098 | -342 | $20,803 | $287,573,344 | 2 | Disney |
| 2 | Knives Out | $27,022,000 | — | 3,461 | — | $7,808 | $62,683,000 | 1 | Lionsgate |
| 3 | Ford v. Ferrari | $13,221,000 | -16% | 3,446 | -82 | $3,837 | $81,003,779 | 3 | 20th Century Fox |
| 4 | A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood | $11,800,000 | -11% | 3,235 | 0 | $3,648 | $34,313,989 | 2 | Sony Pictures |
| 5 | Queen & Slim | $11,700,000 | — | 1,690 | — | $6,923 | $15,810,000 | 1 | Universal Pictures |
| 6 | 21 Bridges | $5,820,000 | -37% | 2,665 | 0 | $2,184 | $19,460,000 | 2 | STX Entertainment |
| 7 | Playing with Fire | $4,200,000 | -7% | 2,679 | -81 | $1,568 | $39,203,808 | 4 | Paramount Pictures |
| 8 | Midway | $3,957,000 | -15% | 2,375 | -252 | $1,666 | $53,433,625 | 4 | Lionsgate |
| 9 | Joker | $2,030,000 | -26% | 1,146 | -264 | $1,771 | $330,602,000 | 9 | Warner Bros. |
| 10 | Last Christmas | $1,980,000 | -36% | 1,852 | -559 | $1,069 | $31,658,680 | 4 | Universal Pictures |
| 11 | Harriet | $1,900,000 | -18% | 1,084 | -262 | $1,753 | $38,984,530 | 5 | Focus Features |
| 12 | The Good Liar | $1,605,000 | -53% | 2,003 | -451 | $801 | $14,925,000 | 3 | Warner Bros. |
| 13 | Charlie’s Angels | $1,260,000 | -61% | 3,156 | -296 | $399 | $16,830,171 | 3 | Sony Pictures |
| # | TITLE | WEEKEND | LOCATIONS | AVG. | TOTAL | WKS. | DIST. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maleficent: Mistress of Evil | $1,360,000 | -34% | 991 | -614 | $1,372 | $111,579,957 | 7 | Disney |
| 2 | Jojo Rabbit | $1,223,000 | -23% | 708 | -79 | $1,727 | $18,360,635 | 7 | Fox Searchlight |
| 3 | Parasite | $1,020,000 | -19% | 382 | -51 | $2,670 | $18,284,045 | 8 | NEON |
| 4 | Doctor Sleep | $920,000 | -50% | 877 | -599 | $1,049 | $30,580,000 | 4 | Warner Bros. |
| 5 | Terminator: Dark Fate | $840,000 | -33% | 782 | -240 | $1,074 | $61,153,256 | 5 | Paramount |
| 6 | Honey Boy | $390,850 | 55% | 186 | 142 | $2,101 | $1,516,597 | 4 | Amazon Studios |
| 7 | Zombieland: Double Tap | $375,000 | -31% | 341 | -114 | $1,100 | $72,237,044 | 7 | Sony Pictures |
| 8 | Black and Blue | $190,000 | -41% | 179 | -81 | $1,061 | $21,733,179 | 6 | Sony / Screen Gems |
| 9 | Abominable | $147,000 | 2% | 195 | -26 | $754 | $60,194,805 | 10 | Universal Pictures |
| 10 | Pain and Glory | $106,579 | -22% | 152 | -65 | $701 | $3,492,681 | 9 | Sony Pictures Classics |
| 11 | Downton Abbey | $77,000 | -38% | 143 | -16 | $538 | $96,693,825 | 11 | Focus Features |
| 12 | Gemini Man | $68,000 | 3% | 114 | 6 | $596 | $48,528,393 | 8 | Paramount Pictures |
| 13 | Arctic Dogs | $43,000 | -22% | 160 | -35 | $269 | $5,658,213 | 5 | Entertainment Studios Motion Pictures |
| 14 | Countdown | $23,000 | -92% | 232 | -66 | $99 | $25,091,006 | 6 | STX Entertainment |
| # | TITLE | WEEKEND | LOCATIONS | AVG. | TOTAL | WKS. | DIST. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dark Waters | $630,000 | 514% | 94 | 90 | $6,702 | $970,484 | 2 | Focus Features |
| 2 | Waves | $140,995 | -15% | 47 | 26 | $3,000 | $564,640 | 3 | A24 |
| 3 | The Lighthouse | $116,807 | -35% | 90 | -23 | $1,298 | $10,392,148 | 7 | A24 |
| 4 | Ad Astra | $17,000 | -41% | 18 | -32 | $944 | $50,169,386 | 11 | 20th Century Fox |
| 5 | The Lion King | $17,000 | -49% | 44 | -43 | $386 | $543,634,567 | 20 | Walt Disney Pictures |
| 6 | The Peanut Butter Falcon | $16,280 | 0% | 31 | -8 | $525 | $20,441,022 | 17 | Roadside Attractions |
| 7 | 63 Up | $15,250 | — | 1 | — | $15,250 | $20,015 | 1 | Britbox |
| 8 | Toy Story 4 | $14,000 | -14% | 34 | -14 | $412 | $434,036,296 | 24 | Disney |
| 9 | Judy | $12,820 | -68% | 37 | -21 | $346 | $23,879,404 | 10 | Roadside Attractions / LD Entertainment |
| 10 | Shooting the Mafia | $2,647 | -19% | 3 | 1 | $882 | $8,310 | 2 | Cohen Media Group |
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