'Moana' Wins Thanksgiving Weekend Box Office With $81M Debut

Disney's animated adventure movie lands at the hot spot at domestic box office with an estimated $55.5 million three-day opening and $81.1 million five-day opening.

"Moana" has successfully debuted atop domestic box office. Disney's animated adventure movie featuring the voices of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Auli'i Cravalho is estimated to earn $55.5 million for the three-day holiday and $81.1 million for the five-day holiday Thanksgiving weekend.

"Their stuff is so good right now and connecting with audiences," says senior box-office analyst for Exhibitor Relations Jeff Bock, referring to the studio's spring hit "Zootopia" and 2014's "Big Hero 6". He adds that "the Disney animation brand is right up there with Pixar at this point."

"Moana" attracted a 55% female audience at North America, and earned a stellar 98% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes and an A grade at CinemaScore. Additionally, the estimated gross for the animated movie is the second-best five-day Thanksgiving opening of all time for the studio after "Frozen" opened with $93.6 million back in 2013.

Last week's champion "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" falls to the runner-up spot in its second weekend. The "Harry Potter" spin-off starring Eddie Redmayne as lead character Newt Scamander adds another $45.1 million to its total domestic cume of $156.2 million so far. It collects an estimated $65.8 million for the five-day holiday weekend.

Placing the third is Marvel's "Doctor Strange". The superhero flick starring Benedict Cumberbatch as the titular sorcerer collects an estimated 13.4 million for the three-day holiday and $18.9 million for the five-day holiday weekend, bringing its total domestic cume to a huge $205.1 million so far.

Aside from "Moana", another newcomer this weekend is "Allied. The WWII spy romance drama starring Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard lands in the fourth place with an estimated $13 million for the three-day holiday and $18 million for the five-day holiday weekend.

"For an R-rated period piece, the fact that 'Allied' was able to earn $18 million is actually impressive, considering the vast array of more populist and younger-skewing fare available," Dergarabedian says, adding that the movie "benefited from the heightened awareness for the film created, for better or worse, by the highly publicized split of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie."

Rounding out the top five is Denis Villeneuve's "Arrival". The Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner-starring movie earns approximately $11.3 million for the three-day holiday and $15.6 million for the five-day holiday in its third weekend. So far, the sci-fi mystery has grossed an estimated $62.4 million domestically.

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