NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� The Walt Disney Co.鈥檚 鈥淲ish鈥� had been expected to rule the Thanksgiving weekend box office, but moviegoers instead feasted on leftovers, as led ticket sales for the second weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday.
Neither of the weekend鈥檚 top new releases 鈥� 鈥淲ish鈥� and Ridley Scott鈥檚 鈥淣补辫辞濒别辞苍鈥� 鈥� could keep up with Lionsgate's . After , the return to Panem proved the top draw for holiday moviegoers, grossing $28.8 million over the weekend and $42 million over the five-day holiday frame.
In two weeks of release, 鈥淪ongbirds and Snakes鈥� has grossed nearly $100 million domestically and $200 million globally.
The closer contest was for second place, where narrowly outmaneuvered 鈥淲ish.鈥� Scott's epic outperformed expectations to take $32.5 million over the five-day weekend and an estimated $20.4 million Friday through Sunday. The film, starring Joaquin Phoenix as the French emperor and Vanessa Kirby as his wife Jos茅phine de Beauharnais, was also the top movie globally with $78.8 million.
Reviews were mixed (61% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) and ticket buyers were non-plussed (a 鈥淏-鈥� CinemaScore), but 鈥淣补辫辞濒别辞苍鈥� fared far better in theaters than its subject did at Waterloo.
鈥淣apoleon,鈥� like Martin Scorsese鈥檚 is a big-budget statement by Apple Studios of the streamer鈥檚 swelling Hollywood ambitions. With an estimated budget of $200 million, 鈥淣补辫辞濒别辞苍鈥� may still have a long road to reach profitability for Apple, which partnered with Sony to distribute 鈥淣补辫辞濒别辞苍鈥� theatrically. But it鈥檚 an undeniably strong beginning for an adult-skewing 168-minute historical drama.
鈥淲ish,鈥� however, had been supposed to have a more starry-eyed start. Disney Animation releases like 鈥淔rozen II鈥� ($123.7 million over five days in 2019), 鈥淩alph Breaks the Internet鈥� ($84.6 million in 2018) and 鈥淐oco鈥� ($71 million in 2017), have often owned Thanksgiving moviegoing.
But 鈥淲ish鈥� wobbled, coming in with $31.7 million over five days and $19.5 million Friday through Sunday. It added $17.3 million internationally. It had been forecast to debut closer to $50 million.
鈥淲ish," at least, is faring better than Disney鈥檚 Thanksgiving release last year: 2022's 鈥淪trange World" . But hopes had been higher for 鈥淲ish,鈥� co-written and co-directed by the 鈥淔rozen鈥� team of Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee and featuring the voices of Ariana DeBose and Chris Pine. 鈥淲ish,鈥� a fairy tale centered around a wished-upon star, is also a celebration of Disney, itself, timed to the studio鈥檚 100th anniversary and rife with callbacks to Disney favorites.
Critics weren't impressed, saying 鈥淲ish鈥� felt So instead of righting an up-and-down year for Disney, 鈥淲ish鈥� is, for now, adding to some of the studio鈥檚 recent headaches, including The Marvel sequel has limped to $76.9 million domestically and $110.2 million overseas in three weeks.
鈥淲ish鈥� also faced direct competition for families in 鈥淭rolls Band Together.鈥� The DreamWorks and Universal Pictures release opened a week prior, and took in $17.5 million in its second frame ($25.3 million over five days).
鈥溾�榃ish鈥� ran into a much more competitive market than what Disney might normally see in the Thanksgiving corridor,鈥� said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for data firm Comscore. "We're accustomed to seeing those Disney films at the top of the chart. They kind of had to split the audience with 鈥楾rolls.鈥�"
Still, the storybook isn鈥檛 written yet on 鈥淲ish.鈥� It could follow the lead of Pixar鈥檚 鈥淓lemental,鈥� which launched with a lukewarm $29.6 million in June but found its legs, ultimately grossing nearly $500 million worldwide.
Also entering wide-release over the holiday weekend was the writer-director鈥檚 follow-up to After debuting in seven packed theaters last weekend, 鈥淪altburn鈥� grossed $3.1 million over five days for Amazon and MGM. Barry Keoghan stars as an Oxford student befriended by a rich classmate (Jacob Elordi) and invited to his family鈥檚 country manor.
As Hollywood's award season accelerates (Netflix debuted Bradley Cooper's in select theaters but didn't report grosses), Focus Features' continues to be one of the top choices in cinemas. starring Paul Giamatti as a boarding school instructor made $3.8 million over the five-day weekend. In five weeks, it's grossed $12.9 million.
Ticket sales overall reached $172 million in U.S. and sa国际传媒 theaters over the five-day holiday weekend, according to Comscore. That's up significantly from recent years but well behind the typical pre-pandemic Thanksgiving weekends. (In 2019, sales boosted by 鈥淔rozen 2鈥� surpassed $262 million.)
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. 鈥淭he Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes,鈥� $28.8 million.
2. 鈥淣apoleon," $20.4 million.
3. 鈥淲ish,鈥� $19.5 million.
4. 鈥淭rolls Band Together,鈥� $17.5 million.
5. 鈥淭hanksgiving,鈥� $7.2 million.
6. 鈥淭he Marvels,鈥� $6.4 million.
7. 鈥淭he Holdovers,鈥� $2.8 million.
8. 鈥淭aylor Swift: The Eras Tour,鈥� $2.3 million.
9. 鈥淔ive Nights at Freddy's,鈥� $1.8 million.
10. 鈥淪altburn,鈥� $1.7 million.
Jake Coyle, The Associated Press
