Hunger Games Beats Creed and Good Dinosaur on Thanksgiving

“This is a movie that is really going to get a lot of attention”. “Pixar has always been a brand that is for all audiences”. The film has now grossed more than two of Daniel Craig’s previous James Bond outings, “Casino Royale” ($167.4 million) and “Quantum of Solace” ($168.4 million), but seems unlikely to match the high-water mark set by “Skyfall” ($304.4 million).

Disney and Pixar’s animated film, The Good Dinosaur, debuted this weekend and came in second behind Hunger Games at the box office. Costing between $175 million and $200 million to produce, “The Good Dinosaur” is the first Pixar movie ever not to open in the first place. The last seven consecutive films from the toon giant all opened north of $60M. Unlike the other series, this would have Mockingjay part 2 have the lowest box office in the series which is usually the movie that has the highest.

“The Good Dinosaur” had a troubled production history.

The Good Dinosaur, Pixar’s second release of 2015, tells of a friendship between an Apatosaurus and an infant caveman in an alternate reality in which dinosaurs have not become extinct. Compared to the debuts for Inside Out, Mexico was down 59%, the United Kingdom fell 61%, France was down 39%, Argentina was off 33%, and Russian Federation was down 73%.

The Rocky revival was in full effect as Creed opened strong to finish in third place with $30 million. It also gives star Sylvester Stallone a chance to add to the Rocky franchise legacy, while additionally giving co-star Michael B. Jordan a starring role that gives him some box office cred, which is badly needed after Fantastic Four bombed back in August.

At the core of the success is a very strong product.

“Mockingjay – Part 2” could of course pass movies now above it in the rankings. That’s down just 15% from last weekend thanks to the holiday, pushing its total grosses up to $176.1 million domestically and $749.6 million worldwide. Total is $24.1M. It broke an industry record for Tuesday shows before Thanksgiving weekend, grossing $1.4 million. It grossed an estimated $185,000, for a solid per-theater average of $46,250.

Also of note is Fox Searchlight’s “Brooklyn”, which posted $4.9 million on fewer than 850 screens, finishing ninth. They earned $12.8 million and $9.7 million, respectively, over the holiday weekend.

“Victor Frankenstein” was not so lucky. Its $3.3 million was only a 14% drop from last weekend’s take, bringing its total to a robust $218 million. Reviews have been good, but not stellar for the Focus release. The Peanuts Movie was fifth, seemingly facing some of its audience drawn away by the new Pixar film. “The Danish Girl” will begin expansion to more markets December 11.