Moana cruises to top spot over Thanksgiving weekend in the US

“Fantastic Beasts” opened to $41.1 million from over 11,600 screens in the Middle Kingdom.

Moana earned almost $10 million during Thanksgiving night screenings yesterday, en route to a number that’s roughly on par with the huge opening for Marvel’s Doctor Strange earlier in the month. Marion Cotillard and Brad Pitt star as spies who fall in love during World War II, but their relationship is thrown into doubt over suspicions that one is a double agent.

The second weekend of “Fantastic Beasts”, from Warner Bros., picked up an additional $18.6 million on Friday at 4,144 locations, putting its estimates at about $65 million.

Longest stay on the United States box office is split between 3 films, Doctor Strange, Trolls and Hacksaw Ridge all on 4 weeks, although the highest total grossing by a long margin is Doctor Strange with $205 million.

“Moana” sees a princess defy tradition and venture beyond her island home of Motunui to save her people. The two films continue Disney Animation’s streak of hits beginning with Tangled and including Wreck-It Ralph, Frozen, and Big Hero 6.

“Moana” is now playing in 3,875 theaters. Another great sign for the new title: It has an A CinemaScore, graded by those surveyed on opening night. The film’s global total so far is is $97.4 million. Bad Santa was a sleeper hit when it bowed to $16 million over the long Thanksgiving corridor in 2003 and topped out at $60 million domestically. The film earned a horrendous $661 per-screen average from 2,382 theaters. It has a 64 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and a B CinemaScore.

“Bad Santa 2” did not have the best opening weekend, the adult-comedy only grossed $6.11M across 2,920 locations.

“Allied”, $13 million ($9.4 million international).

And Warren Beatty’s first film in 15 years, Rules Don’t Apply, bombed with $2.2 million (£1.7 million).

Among the new films that opened on Wednesday, Rules Don’t Apply looks as if it may not even crack the weekend’s top 10 when final numbers are tallied. The movie cost an estimated $150 million to produce, not including marketing expenses, according to Imdb.com.

Rounding out the top five should be Arrival and Allied, a pair of live-action dramas with awards buzz. But in the end, Disney’s summery adventure fell short of the wintry crown holder’s unsurpassed $93.5 million opening.

The spinoff from the blockbuster “Harry Potter” franchise – it’s the first of five planned “Fantastic Beasts” titles – opened November 18 and has taken in $156 million.

The best second weekend for a “Harry Potter” movie is 2001’s “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone”, which ranks at 22 with $57.5 million – and an impressive 36.3 percent drop. The film’s first-week total sits at $18.02M overall.