Weekend Box Office Key Insights: Frozen 2 Breaks Thanksgiving Record; 2019 Box Office Reaches $10B

Hardly Thawing Out

Disney’s animated sequel Frozen 2 posted the best Thanksgiving frame of all time. The film earned $85.9M for the three-day weekend, or $125.0M for the five-day if including Wednesday and Thursday.

The previous records, unadjusted for ticket price inflation, were The Hunger Games: Catching Fire with $74.1M for the three-day and $109.9M for the five-day.

If adjusting for ticket price inflation, though, Frozen 2 ranks second for the Thanksgiving three-day behind 1999’s Toy Story 2. It also ranks third for the Thanksgiving five-day behind Toy Story 2 and 2001’s Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.

Adjusted for ticket price inflation, the original Frozen now ranks third for the Thanksgiving three-day and seventh for the Thanksgiving five-day.

Read our magazine’s cover story on Frozen II, including interviews with co-directors Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck.

Cutting Up the Competition

Lionsgate’s mystery Knives Out was the top new debut, with $26.7M for the three-day and $41.4M for the five-day. About in line with pre-release expectations, that was good for the runner-up slot.

Yas, Queen

Universal’s drama Queen & Slim started with $11.8M for the three-day and $16.0M for the five-day. That beat most pre-release projections.

The film took fourth place for the three-day, but dipped to fifth place for the five-day behind A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood.

Read our interview with Queen & Slim director Melina Matsoukas.

11 Digits Now

The domestic box office crossed $10B total this weekend, now standing at $10.17B. This marks the 11th consecutive year the box office has reached that total, dating back to 2009.

Limited Releases

BritBox’s documentary 63 Up, the latest installment in the decades-long series following several ordinary British people starting in the 1960s, had the best per-theater average outside of Frozen 2. It opened to $13K/$18K in one theater.

Focus Features’ legal drama Dark Waters expanded to 94 theaters, earning $621K/$847K.

How’d This Weekend Compare?

Total box office this weekend was $180.5M. That’s -11.7% below last weekend but +50.9% above this same weekend last year, when Ralph Breaks the Internet led for a second frame with $25.5M.

However, the equivalent weekend last year was actually the frame after Thanksgiving. If comparing the holiday weekends, this year’s was -16.5% below last year’s, when Ralph led with $56.2M.

The Year So Far

Year-to-date box office stands at $10.17B. That’s -5.9% behind this same date last year, up from -7.2% after last weekend.


Monday’s Weekend Actuals (Domestic)

FRI, NOV. 29 – SUN, DEC. 1

WIDE (1000+)

# TITLE WEEKEND   LOCATIONS   AVG. TOTAL WKS. DIST.
1 Frozen II $85,977,773 -34% 4,098 -342 $20,980 $288,845,131 2 Disney
2 Knives Out $26,769,548 3,461 $7,735 $41,414,093 1 Lionsgate
3 Ford v. Ferrari $13,168,306 -16% 3,446 -82 $3,821 $81,031,328 3 20th Century Fox
4 Queen & Slim $11,890,490 1,690 $7,036 $16,000,790 1 Universal Pictures
5 A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood $11,776,422 -11% 3,235 0 $3,640 $34,291,766 2 Sony Pictures
6 21 Bridges $5,587,111 -40% 2,665 0 $2,096 $19,220,781 2 STX Entertainment
7 Playing with Fire $4,221,014 -7% 2,679 -81 $1,576 $39,236,057 4 Paramount Pictures
8 Midway $3,919,935 -16% 2,375 -252 $1,650 $50,214,308 4 Lionsgate
9 Last Christmas $2,008,275 -35% 1,852 -559 $1,084 $31,686,250 4 Universal Pictures
10 Joker $1,950,478 -29% 1,146 -264 $1,702 $330,486,244 9 Warner Bros.
11 Harriet $1,846,885 -21% 1,084 -262 $1,704 $39,457,320 5 Focus Features
12 The Good Liar $1,559,223 -54% 2,003 -451 $778 $14,879,284 3 Warner Bros.
13 Charlie’s Angels $1,257,568 -61% 3,156 -296 $398 $16,838,503 3 Sony Pictures

LIMITED (100 — 999)

# TITLE WEEKEND   LOCATIONS   AVG. TOTAL WKS. DIST.
1 Maleficent: Mistress of Evil $1,328,959 -35% 991 -614 $1,341 $111,549,934 7 Disney
2 Jojo Rabbit $1,209,480 -24% 708 -79 $1,708 $18,357,373 7 Fox Searchlight
3 Parasite $1,010,170 -20% 382 -51 $2,644 $18,274,215 8 NEON
4 Doctor Sleep $900,991 -51% 877 -599 $1,027 $30,561,106 4 Warner Bros.
5 Terminator: Dark Fate $871,806 -30% 782 -240 $1,115 $61,181,385 5 Paramount
6 The Addams Family $469,521 -1% 775 -62 $606 $96,385,131 8 United Artists Releasing
7 Honey Boy $368,056 46% 186 142 $1,979 $1,493,803 4 Amazon Studios
8 Zombieland: Double Tap $355,447 -34% 341 -114 $1,042 $72,217,414 7 Sony Pictures
9 Countdown $227,930 -23% 232 -66 $982 $25,291,802 6 STX Entertainment
10 Black and Blue $206,541 -35% 179 -81 $1,154 $21,748,712 6 Sony / Screen Gems
11 Abominable $148,280 3% 195 -26 $760 $60,180,250 10 Universal Pictures
12 Pain and Glory $104,223 -24% 152 -65 $686 $3,490,325 9 Sony Pictures Classics
13 Downton Abbey $80,950 -35% 143 -16 $566 $96,694,940 11 Focus Features
14 Gemini Man $67,053 2% 114 6 $588 $48,526,267 8 Paramount Pictures
15 Arctic Dogs $42,524 -23% 160 -35 $266 $5,657,737 5 Entertainment Studios Motion Pictures

PLATFORM (1 — 99)

# TITLE WEEKEND   LOCATIONS   AVG. TOTAL WKS. DIST.
1 Dark Waters $621,020 505% 94 90 $6,607 $964,809 2 Focus Features
2 Waves $140,470 -15% 47 26 $2,989 $564,115 3 A24
3 The Lighthouse $115,222 -36% 90 -23 $1,280 $10,390,563 7 A24
4 Motherless Brooklyn $40,741 -43% 68 -18 $599 $9,186,223 5 Warner Bros.
5 Once Upon a Time In Hollywood $32,757 61% 60 35 $546 $140,998,437 19 Sony Pictures
6 Hustlers $25,488 -29% 75 0 $340 $104,915,572 12 STX Entertainment
7 It Chapter Two $24,169 -37% 72 -33 $336 $211,587,886 13 Warner Bros
8 Jay & Silent Bob Reboot $22,381 -72% 6 1 $3,730 $2,801,841 7 Fathom Events / Saban Films
9 Better Days $19,422 -78% 13 -22 $1,494 $1,910,184 4 Well Go USA Entertainment
10 White Snake $16,876 5582% 21 19 $804 $21,492 3 GKIDS
11 The Lion King $15,998 -52% 44 -43 $364 $543,634,365 20 Walt Disney Pictures
12 Ad Astra $15,603 -46% 18 -32 $867 $50,169,225 11 20th Century Fox
13 The Current War $15,123 12% 48 13 $315 $5,944,972 6 101 Studios
14 Judy $14,715 -65% 37 -21 $398 $23,898,614 10 Roadside Attractions / LD Entertainment
15 63 Up $13,956 1 $13,956 $18,720 1 BritBox
16 Toy Story 4 $13,444 -17% 34 -14 $395 $434,035,540 24 Disney
17 The Peanut Butter Falcon $12,451 -24% 31 -8 $402 $20,437,883 17 Roadside Attractions
18 Sympathy for the Devil $12,144 6 $2,024 $12,144 1 eOne Entertainment
19 Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice $11,739 -15% 20 -5 $587 $4,207,563 13 Greenwich Entertainment
20 Varda by Agnes $8,817 -29% 2 0 $4,409 $28,432 2 Janus Films
21 Kind Hearts and Coronets (2019 Re-Issue) $8,004 1 $8,004 $10,182 1 Rialto Pictures
22 The Divine Move 2: The Wrathful $7,790 -48% 5 -5 $1,558 $56,399 3 CJ Entertainment
23 Frankie $6,626 -63% 16 -17 $414 $142,718 6 Sony Pictures Classics
24 No Safe Spaces $4,664 -81% 8 -16 $583 $452,557 6 Atlas Distribution
25 Synonyms $4,628 -63% 5 -7 $926 $151,074 6 Kino Lorber
26 Everybody’s Everything $4,157 -83% 13 -6 $320 $537,962 3 Gunpowder & Sky
27 The Kingmaker $4,056 -39% 8 1 $507 $62,874 4 Greenwich Entertainment
28 Where’s My Roy Cohn? $3,914 100% 5 0 $783 $697,730 11 Sony Pictures Classics
29 Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project $3,752 17% 3 0 $1,251 $27,480 3 Zeitgeist Films
30 Citizen K $3,470 -67% 3 2 $1,157 $15,195 2 Greenwich Entertainment
31 The All-Americans $2,874 5 $575 $19,312 4 Abramorama
32 Mickey and the Bear $2,561 -66% 4 0 $640 $23,618 3 Utopia
33 Shooting the Mafia $2,316 -29% 3 1 $772 $7,228 2 Cohen Media Group
34 Gift $1,767 -1% 2 -7 $884 $31,103 8 Matson Films
35 Give Me Liberty $1,509 89% 2 0 $755 $232,631 15 Music Box Films
36 Edie $1,349 36% 1 -1 $1,349 $69,421 13 Music Box Films
37 Western Stars $1,018 112% 42 30 $24 $1,579,996 7 Warner Bros.
38 Maiden $752 189% 6 4 $125 $3,160,007 23 Sony Pictures Classics
39 David Crosby: Remember My Name $732 16% 5 -2 $146 $731,557 20 Sony Pictures Classics
40 Mr. Klein $720 -57% 1 -1 $720 $177,838 13 Rialto Pictures
41 By the Grace of God $705 -20% 3 -2 $235 $56,235 7 Music Box Films
42 Depeche Mode: SPIRITS in the Forest $440 -100% 1 -305 $440 $704,744 2 Trafalgar Releasing
43 Ága $434 -83% 1 0 $434 $32,087 13 Big World Pictures
44 American Dharma $424 -80% 4 1 $106 $35,341 5 Utopia
45 Scandalous: The Untold Story of the National Enquirer $342 -53% 5 2 $68 $18,174 3 Magnolia Pictures
46 Raise Hell: The Life & Times of Molly Ivins $201 -82% 4 -1 $50 $693,723 14 Magnolia Pictures
47 Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound $174 -94% 2 -7 $87 $46,290 6 Matson Films
48 Matthias & Maxime $136 -96% 6 1 $23 $365,918 8  
49 Desolation Center $104 -21% 1 0 $104 $32,016 12 Matson Films
50 Stuffed $52 -68% 1 0 $52 $9,458 7 Music Box Films
51 Anthropocene: The Human Epoch $50 -93% 1 0 $50 $104,649 10 Kino Lorber