It was a tale of the good, the disappointing, the bad, and the ugly when it comes to new releases at the weekend US box office.
The good? New release “Moana” debuts as a convincing #1. The film will debut with about $55.5 million for the Friday-Sunday window. It will earn $81.1 million with Thanksgiving Eve and Thanksgiving included, marking the second-best Thanksgiving box office total ever (behind “Frozen,” $93.6 million).
The disappointing? While not an outright flop, “Allied” failed to make much noise. It debuts at #4 with $13.0 million in the three-day weekend ($18.0 million since Wednesday). “Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them” (#2, $45.1 million over three days for a cume of $156.2 million) and “Doctor Strange” (#3, $13.4 million over three days for a cume of $205.1 million) take higher positions. “Arrival” (#5, $11.3 million over three days for a cume of $62.4 million).
The bad? “Bad Santa 2” opens at #8 with just $6.1 million over the Friday-Sunday period. With Wednesday and Thursday included, its total is now $9.0 million.
The ugly? “Rules Don’t Apply” absolutely flopped, debuting at #12 with just $1.6 million over three days ($2.2 million over five days).