With partial thanks to the omnipotent Disney machine, this year’s Thanksgiving box office rang up $181.28 million from the top twelve movies, +4% above last year.
Coming in first, Disney/Pixar’s slice of Mexican culture, Coco, debuted in 3,987 venues with $49.02 million over the 3-day weekend and $71.2 million over the 5-day. Coco’s 5-day opening is solid, coming in +22% over 2015’s The Good Dinosaur ($55.46m), Pixar’s last Thanksgiving release and an unfortunate flop. Compared to recent Disney Thanksgiving animations, Coco is -13% off last year’s Moana ($82.08m) and -24% off 2013’s Frozen ($93.59m). Moana is likely the better comparison – both Coco and Moana share cultural perspectives not often seen in big-budget cinema.
Further helping matters, Coco’s acclaim virtually guarantees solid legs beyond Thanksgiving. A similar performance to Moana from here gives Coco a $215m domestic total. In the extreme off-chance Coco performs like The Good Dinosaur, the film notches a less enthusiastic $158m haul. Moana didn’t have much competition until Disney/Lucasfilm’s Rogue One: A Star Wars Story three weeks later; similarly, Coco doesn’t have much competition until Disney/Lucasfilm’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi three weeks from now. So I’d say that $215m gross is a solid bet. If anything, it’s more impressive than Cars 3 ($152.9m), Pixar’s other 2017 offering.
Overseas, Coco took in $30.7 million from 22 markets for a $82.2m international cume. Global is $153.4m. In Mexico, Coco is the highest-grossing film ever, tallying $53.4m. Coco debuted with a solid $18.2m in China, the second-highest number for a Disney-released animation. Aside from Mexico and China, Coco’s top markets are Russia ($3.1m opening) and Poland ($900k opening).
Taking second, Warner Bros./DC’s Justice League saved a little face this frame, grossing $40.73m (-56.6%) over the 3-day weekend and $59.65m over the 5-day. Domestic tally is $171.55m. Justice League’s decline compares very favourably against last year’s Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice (-69.1%) and Suicide Squad (-67.4%), with the obvious caveat that neither of those movies received a Thanksgiving boost. Plus, it’s hard to ignore that these are mediocre numbers for a goddamn Justice League flick. Warner Bros. is even anticipating a loss. It’s difficult to gauge how the film fares from here. Right now, Justice League is +9% ahead of last year’s Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them at the same point in release. Keeping up the pace by run’s end would give Justice League a $255m haul. A collapse could mean DC’s crown jewel may not even outgross this March’s Logan ($226.28m). Don’t spend $300m for your sequel to a widely-disliked movie, kids.
Internationally, Justice League added $72.2 million from 66 markets. Overseas cume is $309.8m and global is $481.35m. China grossed an additional $15.8m for a $83.1m total, indicating a final tally close to Batman v. Superman ($95.77m). Aside from China, Justice League’s top markets are Brazil ($24.9m), Mexico ($18.2m), the U.K. ($16.6m), South Korea ($12m), and France ($10m).
In third, Lionsgate’s surprise hit Wonder added $22.3 million (-19%) over the 3-day weekend and $32.25m over the 5-day. Domestic tally for the Stephen Chbosky film is $69.44m. Wonder has set its course as Lionsgate’s highest-grossing movie this year, surpassing February’s John Wick: Chapter 2 ($92.03m). A domestic total well over $100m is in the cards, too. Wonder won’t be the next The Blind Side, but with a responsible $20m production cost it really doesn’t have to. The movie’s success stands on its own merits.
There are no international numbers to report for Wonder yet, though the movie currently carries $894,603 from 13 territories.
Falling to fourth, Disney/Marvel’s Thor: Ragnarok hammered $16.79 million (-22.5%, 3-day)/$24.26m (5-day). Domestic gross stands at $277.47m. Ragnarok’s latest decline is its lightest yet as the Taika Waititi-directed flick inches ever closer to $300m. Overseas, Thor: Ragnarok added $11 million from all global markets for a $512.6m international total. Global cume is $790.07m. Top markets for Ragnarok are China ($110.4m), the U.K. ($38.6m), South Korea ($34.3m), Brazil ($29.2m), and Australia ($24m).
Rounding out the top five, Paramount’s Daddy’s Home 2 grossed $13.25 million (-8.2%, 3-day)/$18.64m (5-day). The $69m sequel has tallied $72.66m and ought to play nicely through the Christmas season (even if I’m of the belief it cost way too damn much). Overseas, Daddy’s Home 2 grossed $13.8 million from 24 markets for a $15m total, +23% ahead of the first film ($92.43m int’l total) in like-for-like territories. Global is $87.66m. Top markets for Daddy’s Home 2 are the U.K. ($6.3m), Australia ($3.3m), Russia ($1.4m), and Brazil ($1m).
Outside the top five saw a number of expanding releases. At #9, Sony’s Roman J. Israel, Esq. wasn’t promising with $4.52 million over the 3-day weekend and $6.2m over the 5-day from 1,669 venues. Even if this one manages to show legs, the numbers are so low it’d essentially be trivia. At #10, Fox Searchlight’s Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri grossed $4.4m (+299.2%, 3-day)/$5.86m (5-day) from 614 hubs. Tally is $7.62m. Expect Martin McDonagh’s latest to stick around for a while. Taking #11, A24’s Lady Bird – which is pretty well-liked – added $4.04m (+60.6%, 3-day)/$5.37m (5-day) from 791 venues for a $10.7m total. Similar with Three Billboards, Lady Bird is another flick that’ll be showing well through December.
Lastly, Bleecker Street’s The Man Who Invented Christmas debuted at #12 in 626 theatres, grossing $1.34 million (3-day)/$1.8m (5-day). Those aren’t stellar numbers, unfortunately, and with so much fare released and to be released, it’s unlikely The Man Who Invented Christmas will be able to stand out.
HOLDOVERS
6. Murder on the Orient Express (Fox) – $13 million (-5.8%, 3-day), $18.62 million (5-day), $74.25m cume
7. The Star (Sony) – $6.88 million (-29.9%, 3-day), $9.51 million (5-day), $22.03m cume
8. A Bad Moms Christmas (STX) – $5.01 million (-28.4%, 3-day), $6.77 million (5-day), $59.75m cume
NOTABLES
– Call Me By Your Name (Sony Classics) – $404,874 (NEW), 4 theatres ($101,129 avg., 2017 record)
– Darkest Hour (Focus) – $176,000 (NEW, 3-day), 4 theatres ($44,000 avg.), $247,000 (5-day)
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