Box Office: 'Catching Fire,' 'Frozen' Making Thanksgiving History
Disney's family film Frozen and Lionsgate's The Hunger Games: Catching Fire are making history at the Thanksgiving box office, where they are set to gross as much as $90 million and $100 million, respectively, for the Wednesday-Sunday stretch.
In regards to records, Frozen is easily on course to nab the top Thanksgiving opening of all time, eclipsing the $80.1 million five-day debut of Pixar's Toy Story 2 in 1999. It's also destined to score the top opening for a Disney Animation Studios title, besting the $68.7 million debut of Tangled over Thanksgiving in 2010.
Catching Fire, now in its second weekend, will mark the top-grossing Thanksgiving film of any movie, topping previous record-holder Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone ($82.4 million).
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Catching Fire continues to clock in at No. 1, grossing $14.9 million from 4,163 theaters on Thanksgiving day for a domestic total of $222 million and worldwide haul of $423 million.
Frozen, placing No. 2, grossed $11.1 million from 3,742 locations for a two-total of $26.6 million. Family traffic usually dips on Thanksgiving day, then surges on Friday.
Loosely based on Hans Christian Andersen's classic fairy tale The Snow Queen, Frozen -- earning a coveted A+ CinemaScore -- tells the story of a fearless princess ( Kristen Bell) who sets off on an epic journey to find her sister, whose icy powers have caused an eternal winter. Last weekend, the 3D did big business when it played exclusively at Disney's El Capitan Theater in Hollywood.
After Frozen, the news was mixed for the other new holiday films.
Action-thriller , starring Jason , grossed roughly $1.4 million from 2,572 theaters on Thursday to place No. 5, and bringing its two-day total just shy of $3 million. Distributed by Open Road films, the film may have trouble hitting $10 million by Sunday.
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, receiving a B CinemaScore, features as a widowed ex-DEA agent who moves to a small town with his daughter, only to have the decision blow up in his face. James Franco and Winona Ryder also star.
Fox Searchlight's African-American holiday musical Black Nativity, targeting faith-based consumers and earning an A- CinemaScore, fared better on Thursday, but is still struggling. The pic, coming in No. 8, grossed $680,000 from 1,516 theaters for a two-day gross of $1.1 million.
Directed by and based loosely on Langston Hughes' play, Black Nativity's ensemble cast is led by Forest Whitaker, Angela Bassett, , Jennifer Hudson and .
The film, about a teen from Baltimore who travels to New York to spend the holidays with his estranged family, may only eke out a five-day gross in the $3 million range, far less than hoped for. Black Nativity, earning an A- CinemaScore, is likely being hurt by other African-American films still strong in the marketplace, including The Best Man Holiday.
Spike Lee's , opening in 583 theaters Wednesday, is bombing in its debut and may not hit $2 million for the five-day stretch. From a script by Mark , the remake of the cult South Korean film stars , Elizabeth Olsen and Copley. marks the final release from Peter before officially takes over as CEO of Focus Features on Jan. 1.
Elsewhere, both 20th Century Fox's The Book Thief and The Weinstein Co.'s Philomena are making major expansions over the Thanksgiving holiday,
Book Thief, opening in in select cities earlier this month in a bid to build word of mouth, quickly cracked the top 10 Wednesday as it expanded into a total of 1,234 theaters. On Thursday, it took in $825,000 for a domestic total of $3 million and placing No. 7.
The Book Thief, based on the best-selling novel by about a young girl living with her foster parents in Nazi Germany, stars Geoffrey Rush, Emily Watson, and .
' critically acclaimed moved up to No. 11, grossing $433,864 on Thursday from 753 runs for a total $964,267. The awards contender stars and .
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