‘Coco’ Beats ‘Justice League’ at Thanksgiving Box Office

Not even the most powerful heroes in the world can stop the box office freight train that is Disney/Pixar.

After debuting in theaters on Wednesday, Pixar’s latest outing, Coco, conquered Justice League on Thursday to top the Thanksgiving box office. The animated feature hauled in $8.9 million from 3,987 on the holiday, slightly beating Justice League which earned $8.5 million in 4,051 theaters.

Coco is expected to continue its success throughout the weekend. It’s five-day total is projected to top $70 million by the time Sunday night rolls around.

This year will mark another dominant Thanksgiving box office by Disney animation, which holds the top six five-day Thanksgiving openings of all time, not accounting for inflation. 2013’s Frozen holds the title for the holiday box office, earning $93.6 million. Last year, Moana took second place with $82.1 million, and that’s followed by Tangled and The Good Dinosaur, which earned $68.7 million and $55.5 million, respectively.

When inflation is accounted for, Toy Story 2 easily blows Frozen out of the water. By today’s standards, the popular sequel would’ve earned $141 million.

Directed by Lee Unkrich and Adrian Molina, Coco tells the story of a young boy named Miguel, who ends up crossing over into the Land of the Dead in pursuit of his dream to become a musician. The film is accompanied by the original Disney short, Olaf’s Frozen Adventure.