Disney is looking for a box office bonanza repeat with its latest animated featureMoana. The Pacific Islander-centric film got off to a massive start just before Thanksgiving, bringing in $25.58 million over Wednesday and Thursday. It grossed $15.6 million alone on Wednesday, breaking the previous record of $15.1 million set by Disney’s global phenomenonFrozenjust a few years ago, leading many to wonder ifMoanamight be a similar kind of hit. The numbers cooled off a bit in recent days, but the pic scored another $21.8 million on Friday that should put it on track for a five-day told of around (or above) $80 million. That’s a stellar Thanksgiving opening if a touch short of the $93.5 million thatFrozenbrought in over the same time period in 2013.
ButMoanawasn’t the only winner over the holiday. In its second frame,Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Thembrought in $18.6 million on Friday alone, putting its weekend estimates around $65 million. That’s a very strong hold following the film’s $74 million debut, and as with most of theHarry Potterfilms, repeat business appears to be the name of the game.
BeyondMoanaandFantastic Beasts, Friday numbers are quite a bit lower—it looks like families have made the Disney feature and Warner Bros.’ franchise-starter the priorities of the holiday. Marvel’sDoctor Strange, in its fourth go-around, earned $5.5 million on Friday and should end the five-day frame with around $14 million, which would be enough to push the domestic total above $200 million. That would top the $180 million domestic gross ofAnt-Man, the $181 million domestic total ofThor, and the $176.6 million thatCaptain America: The First Avengernabbed to make it Marvel Studios' third-best new hero debut domestically behindIron Man’s $318.4 andGuardians of the Galaxy’s $333.1 million.
In terms of new releases, the throwback World War II thrillerAllied, starringBrad PittandMarion Cotillard, nabbed $4.9 million on Friday and is expected to earn around $12 million for the weekend, whileBad Santa 2is eyeing a paltry $6 million weekend andWarren Beatty’s comebackRules Don’t Applyappears to be quiet with around just $2 million for the five-day frame.
Check out the Friday Top 5 below and check back tomorrow for full weekend results.
$21,826,000
$47,411,000
Fantastic Beasts
$18,550,000
$129,678,123
Doctor Strange
$5,435,000
$197,159,475
$4,940,000
$9,962,000
$4,515,000
$55,652,300
