Disney has enjoyed another run atop the box office for the past couple of weeks thanks to the success of Frozen 2 . During the recent Thanksgiving weekend, the animated sequel pulled in an additional $85.9 million, making it another raging success for the studio in what has become a massive record-breaking year. With only one new title hitting theaters in wide release this weekend in the form of STX’s Playmobil: The Movie, the path is clear once again for Elsa and Anna to take the top spot.
With little in the way of competition, as this weekend is turning into something of a dead zone at the box office, Frozen 2 should easily come out on top once again. That will make for a relatively rare third weekend in a row atop the U.S. box office. It’s expected that the movie, directed by Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee, will take in between another $30 and $40 million. To date, the movie has already grossed $745.2 million globally, including $292 million domestically. Even if it didn’t make another dime, this would be a huge win for the Mouse House, but this one still has a long way to go and, barring a disaster, should clear the $1 billion mark easily in the coming weeks.
Playmobil: The Movie will be forced to settle for a much more modest debut. STX Entertainment is distributing the animated flick in the U.S., which is based on the popular toyline of the same name. It’s expected to make just $5 million in its opening frame, which is a rough start. Luckily for STX, they’re merely distributing and the company doesn’t have a financial stake in this one. Wild Bunch, Pathe, Dimitri Rassam and On Animation co-financed the picture, which carries an estimated production budget of $75 million. Lino DiSalvo is in the director’s chair with a cast that includes Anya Taylor-Joy and Daniel Radcliffe. This one will go down as a late 2019 box office bomb, in all likelihood.
The top five will be rounded out by holdovers this week, starting with director Rian Johnson’s murder mystery Knives Out. The movie boasts rave reviews and grossed an impressive $26.7 million on opening weekend. It’s expected to earn somewhere in the neighborhood of $12 to $15 million in its second frame. The stacked ensemble cast is led by Daniel Craig. Next up should be Ford vs. Ferrari. The racing pic, directed by James Mangold, headlined by Matt Damon and Christian Bale, should clear another $10 million or so and will pass the $150 million mark globally over the weekend.
The Mister Rogers biopic A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood should stay in the top five with between $7 and $8 million. Strong reviews and word of mouth have carried the movie this far, along with an acclaimed performance by Tom Hanks. Queen and Slim is likely to round out the top five with between $6 and $8 million. The modern Bonnie and Clyde tale also opened last weekend and bested expectations. Be sure to check out our full list of weekend box office predictions below and check back with us on Sunday for the weekend estimates. Numbers used in this report were provided by Box Office Mojo.
| 1 | Frozen 2 | |
| 2 | Knives Out | |
| 3 | Ford V Ferrari | |
| 4 | A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood | |
| 5 | Queen & Slim | |
| 6 | Playmobil: The Movie | |
| 7 | 21 Bridges | |
| 8 | Playing with Fire | |
| 9 | Midway | |
| 10 | Dark Waters |
