‘Coco’ Stuffing ‘Justice League’ at Thanksgiving Box Office
Disney-Pixar’s “Coco” is heading for a clear victory over “Justice League” at the Thanksgiving holiday box office, estimates showed Thursday morning.
“Coco” should finish above $70 million at 3,958 North American locations in its first five days while “Justice League” will wind up around $60 million at 4,051 sites. “Coco” is performing significantly above pre-release forecasts, which had been in the $55 million to $60 million range.
Wednesday’s figures showed “Coco” with a first-day total of $13.2 million, which included $2.3 million from Tuesday night previews. The animated musical received an A+ CinemaScore from moviegoers, indicating that the film could be lifted by strong word of mouth during the rest of the holidays.
On the same holiday weekend a year ago, Disney-Pixar’s “Moana” scored $15.5 million on its first day and went on to earn $82 million in five days. That was the second-highest opening for the period, trailing only Disney’s “Frozen” at $93 million in 2013.
“Coco” is already a blockbuster in Mexico with $48.8 million — the biggest opening of all time in that market. The central character is a 12-year-old who dreams of becoming a musician and sets off to explore his family history in the Land of the Dead. Disney-Pixar hasn’t revealed the cost, but such titles are usually in the $175 million to $200 million range.
“Justice League,” the fifth installment of the DC Extended Universe, has a respectable B+ CinemaScore. Gal Gadot stars as Wonder Woman along with Ben Affleck as Batman, Henry Cavill as Superman, Jason Momoa as Aquaman, Ezra Miller as the Flash, and Ray Fisher as Cyborg.
Warner Bros. has not disclosed the production cost, which is believed to be as much as $300 million. Its opening of $93.8 million was the smallest of the five DC titles.
Thanksgiving celebrations on Thursday should hold down business for most films by 20% to 30% before Friday and Saturday bring near equal earnings as the launch day.
As for “Justice League,” it earned $10.5 million on Wednesday for a six-day total of $122.4 million. The pricey tentpole should be topping $170 million by the end of the weekend.
Lionsgate’s family drama “Wonder” is showing plenty of staying power, taking in $6 million at 3,140 venues for a six-day total of $43.2 million. The Jacob Tremblay vehicle opened far above expectations with $27 million on its debut weekend and has earned an A+ Cinemascore. Lionsgate, Participant Media, Walden Media and Mandeville Films partnered on “Wonder,” which also stars Julia Roberts and Owen Wilson.
The fourth weekend of Disney-Marvel’s “Thor: Ragnarok” should finish a solid fourth with about $20 million at 3,281 sites. The third “Thor” took in $4 million on Wednesday, giving the superhero title $257 million in its first 20 days.
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