Box Office: ‘Moana’ outpaces ‘Fantastic Beasts’ on Black Friday
Disney’s latest animated feature, “Moana,” continued its hold on the Thanksgiving weekend box office, adding another $21.8 million Friday to boost an already strong opening.
Featuring songs by “Hamilton” creator Lin-Manuel Miranda and the voices of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and newcomer Auli’i Cravalho, the film set in the South Pacific has received strong critical notices, earning a rating of 98% on the review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes. The movie had earned a combined $25 million since its opening late Tuesday night and is on pace to meet a pre-release weekend estimate of $75 million, a number that was shared by those who have reviewed audience surveys.
Justin Chang reviews Disney’s latest animated movie, “Moana,” starring Auli’i Cravalho and Dwayne Johnson. Video by Jason H. Neubert
Still drawing a crowd in second place, J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter” spinoff “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” earned an estimated $18.5 million Friday. The box office leader during its opening last week, the film starring Eddie Redmayne has already earned close to $130 million.
The numbers translate to some welcome news for Hollywood, which weathered some disappointing totals for would-be blockbusters over the summer. So far this season, totals are 5% stronger than this time last year, according to comScore.
The latest installment in the superhero extravaganza from the Marvel universe, “Doctor Strange” came in third Friday with earnings of $5.4 million. Rounding out the top five, the war drama “Allied” took in $4.9 million for fourth place and “Arrival,” the grown-up-oriented alien invasion feature starring Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner, came in fifth with $4.5 million.
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