Thanksgiving is a holiday typically dominated by family films and mindless box-office epics. However, last weekend, moviegoers turned out in massive numbers in response to a mixed slate of commercial hits, family films and Oscar hopefuls. While newcomer “Rise of the Guardians” underperformed, the other four films in the top five continued box-office success and set a new Thanksgiving record for profitability.

The top 12 films in the box office this weekend earned more than $200 million, beating the $175 million Thanksgiving record set in 2009. This was in part due to the strong holdovers of “Breaking Dawn – Part 2,” “Skyfall” and “Lincoln,” as well as new films “Rise of the Guardians” and “Life of Pi.”

Coming in at No. 1 was the final installment “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2.” In the five-day Thanksgiving weekend, the film grossed more than $43 million, and has already collected more than $227 million domestically and more than $570 million worldwide in only two weeks of release. In fact, this weekend marked the highest-grossing second weekend ever for a film in the series. 

“Breaking Dawn – Part 2” was not the only film this weekend that has set a franchise record. The latest installment in the Bond series, “Skyfall,” came in at No. 2 and took in approximately $50.5 million in the five-day weekend. The film has already surpassed $220 million domestically and more than $790 million globally, making it the highest-grossing film in the franchise.

Audiences clearly were not deterred by two-and-a-half-hour historical drama “Lincoln,” as it came in at No. 3 behind “Skyfall,” with just less than $35 million in the five-day weekend. The film still sustained interest among audiences mainly because of Oscar buzz surrounding Daniel Day-Lewis’ portrayal of Lincoln. Day-Lewis is a frontrunner to win Best Actor.

When DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg and CMO Anne Globe came to the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications on Oct. 17, both hyped up their latest film, “Rise of the Guardians,” an animated film about notable childhood figures (Santa Claus, Jack Frost, Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy and Sandman) who team up to fight the Boogey Man. Sadly, the film did not live up to their hype, as it debuted to only $32.3 million in the five-day weekend.

While the film has a long way to profitability, given its $145 million production budget, the film should be more successful in the coming weeks as the holidays approach because of the winter and holiday theme of the film. 

The final film in the top five was 20th Century Fox’s “Life of Pi,” which opened with $30.6 million in the five-day weekend. What is especially noteworthy is that despite the decline of 3-D viewing, most viewers sought the 3-D version, given its aesthetically pleasing effects. Though the film has no major stars, audiences have responded positively to it because of the talent of director Ang Lee, the popularity of the best-selling book, great reviews and Oscar buzz for Best Director, Best Movie and Best Cinematography.

—Written by Ian Tecklin, contributing writer, ijteckli@syr.edu

Published on November 29, 2012 at 12:27 am