Thanksgiving weekend moviegoing was still far from the feast it normally is, but Disney's Encanto and the Lady Gaga-led House of Gucci both gave a lift to two genres that have been particularly battered by the pandemic: family movies and adult dramas. Encanto led the box office with $27 million over the weekend and $40.3 million across the five-day holiday frame, according to studio estimates Sunday, the AP reports. While well off the pace of past Disney animated movies released over Thanksgiving—Coco launched at the same time of year with $72 million and Ralph Breaks the Internet with $84 million—the result was the best opening for an animated movie during the pandemic.
Family films have been especially slow to bounce back, though with children increasingly getting vaccinated, industry hopes have been rising that releases such as Encanto can lead a rebound. Disney earlier this year released films like Pixar's Luca straight to Disney+, but put out Encanto, reportedly made for $120 million, exclusively in theaters. The film, about a magical Colombia family and featuring original songs from Lin-Manuel Miranda, took in $70 million globally. MGM's House of Gucci, from director Ridley Scott, debuted with $14.2 million over the three-day weekend and $21.8 million across five days. That, too, was among the best performances for an adult drama.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at US and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore, are:
- Encanto, $27 million
- Ghostbusters: Afterlife, $24.5 million
- House of Gucci, $14.2 million
- Eternals, $2.5 million
- Resident Evil: Welcome to Racoon City, $5.3 million.
- Clifford the Big Red Dog, $4.9 million
- King Richard, $3.3 million
- Dune, $2.2 million
- No Time to Die, $1.8 million
- Venom: Let There Be Carnage,” $1.6 million
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