Frozen 2 Set to Break Thanksgiving Weekend Box Office Record

Frozen 2 is set to break records this holiday week. Over the five-day Thanksgiving holiday weekend, Frozen 2 is expected to earn $126 million. That’s enough to surpass the Thanksgiving weekend record set by The Hunger Games: Catching Fire in 2013. Frozen 2 sees Elsa the Snow Queen and her sister Anna embarking on a new adventure that takes them far away from the kingdom of Arendelle. They are again joined by their friends, Kristoff, Olaf, and Sven.

Original Frozen directors Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee return for the sequel. The film features new music from the composers and songwriters of the original film, Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez Idina Menzel, Kristen Bell, Jonathan Groff, Josh Gad, and Ciarán Hinds reprise their voice acting roles from the original Frozen. Sterling K. Brown, Evan Rachel Wood, Alfred Molina, Martha Plimpton, Jason Ritter, Rachel Matthews, and Jeremy Sisto join them as new characters.

Frozen 2 has received positive reviews, though it hasn’t been as glowingly received as the first film. ComicBook.com’s Charlie Ridgely criticized the sequel for playing it too safe in his three-star review. “Frozen 2 is a tale of two halves,” he writes. “Fortunately for everyone, the better of those two halves comes second and leaves you feeling mostly fulfilled when walking out of the theater. None of it is nearly as warm or magical as the original Frozen, but there’s a certain charm to be found in the bold and dark adventure late in the film that still makes it worth the journey.”

Also opening this weekend is Knives Out from Star Wars: The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson. The film will open in second place with a five-day total of $42.4 million.

What did you think of Frozen 2? What else are you seeing at the box office this weekend? Let us know in the comments, and keep reading to see this weekend’s top 10.

1. Frozen 2

Week Two
Friday: $34.1 million
Weekend: $126.3 million
Total: $290.1 million

Elsa the Snow Queen and her sister Anna embark on an adventure far away from the kingdom of Arendelle. They are joined by friends, Kristoff, Olaf, and Sven.
 
Frozen 2 is directed by Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee. The film features the voices of Idina Menzel, Kristen Bell, Jonathan Groff, Josh Gad, Ciarán Hinds, Sterling K. Brown, Evan Rachel Wood, Alfred Molina, Martha Plimpton, Jason Ritter, Rachel Matthews, and Jeremy Sisto.

2. Knives Out

Opening Weekend
Friday: $10.6 million
Weekend: $42.4 million

A detective and a trooper travel to a lush estate to interview the quirky relatives of a patriarch who died during his 85th birthday celebration.

Knives Out is written, produced, and directed by Rian Johnson. The film stars Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Don Johnson, Toni Collette, Lakeith Stanfield, Katherine Langford, Jaeden Martell, and Christopher Plummer.

3, Ford v Ferrari

Week Three
Friday: $5.3 million
Weekend: $19.8 million
Total: $81.8 million

American automotive designer Carroll Shelby and fearless British race car driver Ken Miles battle corporate interference, the laws of physics and their own personal demons to build a revolutionary vehicle for the Ford Motor Co. Together, they plan to compete against the race cars of Enzo Ferrari at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in France in 1966.
 
Ford v Ferrari is directed by James Mangold and written by Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth, and Jason Keller.The film stars Matt Damon, Christian Bale, Jon Bernthal, Caitriona Balfe, Tracy Letts, Josh Lucas, Noah Jupe, Remo Girone, and Ray McKinnon.

4, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Week Two
Friday: $5 million
Weekend: $18.3 million
Total: $35.3 million

A journalist’s life is enriched by friendship when he takes on an assignment profiling Fred Rogers. Based on the real-life friendship between journalist Tom Junod and television star Fred Rogers.

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood is directed by Marielle Heller and written by Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster. The film is inspired by the 1998 article “Can You Say … Hero?” by Tom Junod, which was published in Esquire. The film stars Tom Hanks, Matthew Rhys, Susan Kelechi Watson, and Chris Cooper

5. Queen & Slim

Opening Weekend
Friday: $4.3 million
Weekend: $14.9 million

Slim and Queen’s first date takes an unexpected turn when a policeman pulls them over for a minor traffic violation. When the situation escalates, Slim takes the officer’s gun and shoots him in self-defence. Now labelled cop killers in the media, Slim and Queen feel that they have no choice but to go on the run and evade the law. When a video of the incident goes viral, the unwitting outlaws soon become a symbol of trauma, terror, grief and pain for people all across the country.

Queen & Slim is directed by Melina Matsoukas from a screenplay written by Lena Waith. The film stars Daniel Kaluuya, Jodie Turner-Smith, Chloë Sevigny, Flea, Bokeem Woodbine, and Indya Moore. 

6. 21 Bridges

Week Two
Friday: $2.1 million
Weekend: $7.7 million
Total: $19.2 million

After uncovering a massive conspiracy, an embattled NYPD detective joins a citywide manhunt for two young cop killers. As the night unfolds, he soon becomes unsure of who to pursue — and who’s in pursuit of him. When the search intensifies, authorities decide to take extreme measures by closing all of Manhattan’s 21 bridges to prevent the suspects from escaping.

21 Bridges is directed by Brian Kirk and stars Chadwick Boseman, Stephan James, Taylor Kitsch, Sienna Miller, Keith David, and J. K. Simmons 

7. Midway

Week Four
Friday: $1.69 million
Weekend: $5.96 million
Total: $50.4 million

US soldiers and pilots change the course of World War II during the Battle of Midway in June 1942. The US and Imperial Japanese naval forces fought for four days.

Midway is directed by Roland Emmerich, written by Wes Tooke, and stars Ed Skrein, Patrick Wilson, Luke Evans, Aaron Eckhart, Nick Jonas, Mandy Moore, Dennis Quaid, and Woody Harrelson.

8. Playing With Fire

Week Four
Friday: $1.66 million
Weekend: $5.96 million
Total: $39.1 million

When straight-laced fire superintendent Jake Carson and his elite team of firefighters come to the rescue of three siblings, they quickly realize that no amount of training could prepare them for their most challenging job yet — babysitting. As their lives, jobs and depot get turned upside down, the three men soon learn that children — much like fires — are wild and unpredictable.
 
Playing with Fire directed by Andy Fickman and written by Dan Ewen and Matt Lieberman. The film stars John Cena, Keegan-Michael Key, John Leguizamo, Brianna Hildebrand, Dennis Haysbert, and Judy Greer.

9. Joker

Week Eight
Friday: $770,000
Weekend: $2.8 million
Total: $330.5 million

Forever alone in a crowd, failed comedian Arthur Fleck seeks connection as he walks the streets of Gotham City. Arthur wears two masks — the one he paints for his day job as a clown, and the guise he projects in a futile attempt to feel like he’s part of the world around him. Isolated, bullied and disregarded by society, Fleck begins a slow descent into madness as he transforms into the criminal mastermind known as the Joker.

Joker is directed by Todd Phillips. He co-wrote the film’s screenplay with Scott Silver. The film stars Joaquin Phoenix as Arthur Fleck, with Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, Frances Conroy, Brett Cullen, Glenn Fleshler, Bill Camp, Shea Whigham, and Marc Maron.

10. Last Christmas

Week Four
Friday: $760,000 million
Weekend: $2.8 million
Total: $31.6 million

A young woman, who has been continuously unlucky, accepts a job as a department store elf during the holidays. When Kate meets Tom on the job, her life takes a turn.

Last Christmas is directed by Paul Feig and written by Bryony Kimmings and Emma Thompson. The film stars Emilia Clarke, Henry Golding, Michelle Yeoh, and Emma Thompson.