Disney figured out how to win the Thanksgiving weekend years ago, and since then has just gotten better at it.
Before this year’s five-day holiday, eight of the top 10 all-time box office grossers over Thanksgiving weekend were Disney titles, with 2013’s “Frozen” leading the way ($93.5 million).
Disney now holds nine of the top 10 titles over the Turkey Day holiday thanks to its new release, “Moana.”
The movie took in a strong $81.1 million, according to Exhibitor Relations, which puts it at No. 2 all-time over the holiday weekend.
Following a Polynesian girl who heads out on an ocean journey to save her people, the movie features the voice of Dwayne Johnson and the music of “Hamilton” creator Lin-Manuel Miranda.
“Moana” got off to a great start when it earned $2.6 million in Tuesday preview screenings, breaking the previous record held by “The Good Dinosaur.” The movie went on to having an opening day take of $15.7 million. It had a strong Thanksgiving Day with $9.9 million, and then on Friday shot up to $21.8 million.
The strength of “Moana” and “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” which came in second over the holiday weekend with $65.3 million, helped the domestic box office cross the $10 billion mark for the year in record time.
That milestone was hit on Friday— faster than last year when it didn’t reach that number until December 18. And 2015 saw an all-time record $11 billion at the domestic box office, so Hollywood studios are very thankful this Thanksgiving as things are looking good for 2016 to surpass last year’s mark.
“Moana” is just the latest example of Disney’s dominance at the box office this year. The studio has passed the $6 billion mark globally, an all-time record for the company, and is nearing an industry all-time record of $7 billion worldwide for the year.
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