'Coco' Wins Thanksgiving Box Office and Tops 'Justice League'

Pixar's latest animated feature wins weekend box office and beats DC's superhero team-up film.

"Coco" won the Thanksgiving holiday box office with its estimated $49 million weekend grossing. The animated feature is Disney's latest film that scored the fourth best Thanksgiving opening of all time behind "Toy Story 2", "Frozen (2013)" and "Moana". Meanwhile, "Justice League" dropped down to second place with approximately $40.7 million, a devastating 57% decline from its debut last weekend.

Pixar and Disney are no stranger to dominating Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Telling a story from a Hispanic culture point of view, "Coco" got $8.9 million on Thanksgiving and 39% Hispanic audience over the weekend, which is a result that the studios are looking for. The animated film itself became the top-grossing film of all time in Mexico with $53.4 million to date.

"Coco" is not the first animated feature that centers on Mexican holiday, Dia de Los Muertos. In 2014, there was a similar animated fantasy adventure film by Fox, "The Book of Life", which only grossed $17 million at box office. However, Disney and Pixar managed to capture the authenticity and relevancy of Mexican culture in their film "Coco". Additionally, the film is one of the largest U.S. productions that feature mostly Latino cast.

"Pixar not only focused on telling a good story, they focused on making the film as culturally relevant as possible. I think that's one of the things that makes the film feel authentic for all audiences, and particularly Hispanic audiences, although this is a story that resonates with everyone," said Dave Hollis, Disney distribution chief.

On the other hand, Julia Roberts, Jacob Tremblay and Owen Wilson captivated the audience with their superb acting. Lionsgate's "Wonder" stepped down to third place and collected around $22.3 million. The family film slid only 19% in its second week and made a domestic total of $69.4 million, a satisfactory and profitable result for the $20 million-budgeted movie.

"Thor: Ragnarok" still hooks the hearts of cinemagoers. The God of Thunder film got the fourth place of box office, grossing about $16.8 million for the weekend and pushing its domestic total to an estimated $277.5 million after four weeks. Rounding out the top five was Paramount's "Daddy's Home 2" with its approximately $13.3 million weekend grossing. After three weeks, the film has earned a total of around $72.7 million domestically, making a thin profit for their $69 million production cost.

Top Ten Movies at Weekend Box Office for November 24-26:

1. "Coco" - $49 million
2. "Justice League" - $40.7 million
3. "Wonder" - $22.3 million
4. "Thor: Ragnarok" - $16.8 million
5. "Daddy's Home 2" - $13.3
6. "Murder on the Orient Express" - $13 million
7. "The Star" - $6.9 million
8. "A Bad Moms Christmas" - $5 million
9. "Roman J. Israel, Esq." - $4.5 million
10. "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri" - $4.4 million