"Frozen 2" topped previous Thanksgiving weekend record-holder "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire," which earned about 110 million dollars in 2013. "Frozen 2" crossed the domestic 200-million-dollar mark in near-record time and currently stands at 738.6 million dollars in global ticket sales.
In second place, Lionsgate and MRC's "Knives Out" opened Wednesday well ahead of expectations with a five-day debut of 41.7 million dollars, including 27 million dollars Friday through Sunday. It earned 28.3 million dollars internationally for a global cumulative total of 70 million dollars.
"Murder mysteries have always been enormously popular, but cinematically they had become fairly predictable and a little less interesting," said Joe Drake, chairman of the Lionsgate Motion Picture Group.
Director Rian Johnson "and our producing partners at MRC and T-Street did an extraordinary job of rekindling the genre and exciting moviegoers into action with an exceptionally entertaining film that delivered ... fresh characters and a plot that has unpredictable twists and turns. We are off to a fantastic start and expect a very strong holiday multiple given the word of mouth on the movie."
Written and directed by Johnson ("Star Wars: The Last Jedi"), the film is a comedic take on the murder mystery genre starring Jamie Lee Curtis, Chris Evans, Katherine Langford, Michael Shannon, Toni Collette, Jaeden Martell and Don Johnson as members of a wealthy family whose patriarch (played by Christopher Plummer) dies unexpectedly. Lakeith Stanfield, Daniel Craig and Ana de Armas also star.
It was well-received with an A-minus CinemaScore and a 96 per cent "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
At number three, Fox's "Ford v Ferrari" added a five-day haul of 19 million dollars, with 13.2 million dollars in its third weekend for a cumulative total of $81 million. Globally, the film has earned 143.3 million dollars.
In fourth place, Sony's "A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood" added 17.3 million dollars over the five days, including 11.8 million dollars in its second weekend (a tiny 11% drop) for a domestic cumulative total of 34.3 million dollars.
Rounding out the top five, Universal and Makeready's "Queen & Slim" opened Wednesday to 15.8 million dollars through five days, including 11.7 million dollars over the weekend.
Directed by Melina Matsoukas ("Insecure," Beyonce's "Formation" video) from a script by Lena Waithe, the film stars Daniel Kaluuya and newcomer Jodie Turner-Smith as a couple on the run after an altercation with a police officer turns deadly. It is the feature debut for both Matsoukas and Waithe.
The film was well received with an A-minus CinemaScore and an 84 per cent "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
At number six, STX Entertainment's "21 Bridges" added 5.8 million dollars Friday through Sunday in its second weekend (a 37 per cent drop) for a cumulative total of 20.5 million dollars.
In seventh place, Paramount's "Playing With Fire" added 4.2 million dollars over three days in its fourth weekend for a cumulative 39.2 million dollars.
At number eight, Lionsgate's "Midway" added 4 million dollars in its fourth weekend for a cumulative 50.3 million dollars.
In ninth place, Warner Bros.' "Joker" added 2 million dollars in its ninth weekend for a cumulative 330.6 million dollars.
Rounding out the top 10, Universal's "Last Christmas" added about 2 million dollars in its fourth weekend for a cumulative 31.7 million dollars.
In limited release, A24 expanded "Waves" in its third weekend to 47 locations (up from 21) with 193,430 dollars through the five days (a per-screen average of 4,116 dollars), including 140,995 dollars over the weekend (a per-screen average of 3,000 dollars), and a cumulative 557,747 dollars.
Focus Features' "Dark Waters" added 90 theaters (up from four in its debut last weekend) with 860,000 dollars through the five days (a per-screen average of 9,229 dollars), including 630,000 dollars through the weekend (a per-screen average of 6,702 dollars), for a cumulative 977,000 dollars.
This week, the studio expands "Dark Waters" into wide release and STX Entertainment opens the animated comedy "Playmobil: The Movie."
In limited release, Amazon releases the biopic "The Aeronauts," Neon debuts the drama "Portrait of a Lady on Fire" and Magnolia Pictures reveals the sci-fi drama "Little Joe."
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