A Thanksgiving record kept Disney’s Frozen 2 at the top of the North American box office over the weekend, industry watcher Exhibitor Relations said Monday.
The animated musical, which follows beloved characters from the 2013 hit Frozen as Queen Elsa and the gang travel to an enchanted forest, took in $86 million in domestic theaters Friday-Sunday.
Released just in time for the winter holidays, Frozen 2 made an unprecedented $124 million over the extended five-day Thanksgiving period from Wednesday to Sunday, according to Disney’s own estimates.
The previous five-day record was set by The Hunger Games: Catching Fire in 2013.
Knives Out, a murder mystery from Lionsgate starring Daniel Craig, Jamie Lee Curtis and Chris Evans, made a surprise $26.8 million for the Friday-Sunday period and has been immediately hailed as a rare triumph for original content at multiplexes.
Ford v Ferrari slipped to third place with $13.2 million. The Fox film is based on the true story of how a team at Ford built a car to challenge Ferrari’s longtime dominance of France´s classic 24-hour Le Mans race.
New Universal release Queen and Slim, a romantic drama starring Daniel Kaluuya and Jodie Turner-Smith, also performed above expectations to earn fourth spot with $11.9 million.
Sony release A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, a drama about a cynical journalist’s unlikely friendship with beloved television star Fred Rogers (played by Tom Hanks), took fifth place with $11.8 million.
Rounding out the top 10 were:
21 Bridges ($5.6 million)
Playing with Fire ($4.2 million)
Midway ($3.9 million)
Last Christmas ($2 million)
Joker ($2 million)
