Weekend Box Office Report: November 24-26, 2017

Coco makes mucho dinero!

Pixar's latest effort arrived for Thanksgiving weekend and took the top spot at the box office as COCO opened with an estimated $49 million!

The animation studio's twist on Mexican folklore (from TOY STORY 3 director Lee Unkrich) has accumulated $71.1 million domestic since it opened on Wednesday.

The musical trip to the Land of the Dead got a better reception than Pixar's previous Thanksgiving weekend release THE GOOD DINOSAUR, which started with $39.1 million for the three-day weekend in 2015 and $55.4 million over the five-day holiday period. However, COCO trailed behind the studio's summer release CARS 3, which opened with $53.6 million in June.

The colorful new tale (which was preceded by a 20-minute FROZEN short featuring Olaf the snowman) cost upwards of $200 million, and has generated another $82 million from international crowds for a worldwide total of $153 million.

Critics adored Pixar's dazzling Día de los Muertos adventure, giving it an average of 96% on Rotten Tomatoes. You can check out the JoBlo review HERE.

Last weekend's box office champion JUSTICE LEAGUE slipped to second place with $40.7 million, a drop of 56% from its opening.

The union of DC Comics superheroes, which cost a reported $300 million (or more), has a ten-day domestic total of $171.5 million and is now at $481 million worldwide.

In third place was the surprise hit Julia Roberts/Owen Wilson family drama WONDER with $22.3 million, down a mere 19% from last weekend's opening.

The $20 million adaptation of R.J. Palacio's bestseller about a boy with Treacher Collins syndrome has a ten-day domestic total of $69.4 million.

Marvel's Thunder God sequel THOR: RAGNAROK was in fourth place with $16.7 million, bringing it to a domestic total of $277.4 million after a month in theaters.

Director Taika Waititi's galactic action-comedy now has a worldwide total of $790 million (on a reported cost of $180 million).

The PG-13 comedy DADDY'S HOME 2 was in fifth place with $13.2 million, giving the Will Ferrell/Mark Wahlberg holiday sequel a $72.6 million domestic total (on a $69 million budget).

In sixth was Kenneth Branagh's Agatha Christie adaptation MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS with $13 million for a $74.2 million domestic total on its third weekend. The $55 million all-star train ride is pulling up to $200 million worldwide.

The animated Christmas story THE STAR was in seventh with $6.8 million, losing 30% from its opening for a ten-day domestic total of $22 million. The R-rated sequel A BAD MOMS CHRISTMAS followed in eighth with $5 million for a domestic total of $59.7 million since its November 1st opening (putting it just over halfway to the $113 million finish of BAD MOMS).

Opening in ninth place was the new drama ROMAN J. ISRAEL, ESQ. with $4.5 million.

The Denzel Washington showcase, which cost a reported $22 million, expanded from its limited release last week for a $6.2 million domestic total.

The legal thriller from NIGHTCRAWLER director Dan Gilroy received mixed judgment from critics, who gave it an average 54% on Rotten Tomatoes (the JoBlo review is HERE).

Closing out the list was the R-rated THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI with $4.4 million after expanding from 53 to 614 locations.

The Frances McDormand comedy-drama from director Martin McDonagh (IN BRUGES) has a domestic total of $7.6 million.

Outside the chart, writer-director Greta Gerwig's acclaimed LADY BIRD was displaced along with horror sequel JIGSAW. The Dan Stevens Dickens tale THE MAN WHO INVENTED CHRISTMAS didn't receive much holiday joy with $1.7 million over the five-day period on 626 screens (the JoBlo review is HERE).

In limited release, the Armie Hammer drama CALL ME BY YOUR NAME had a whopping $101k per-screen average, while the Gary Oldman Winston Churchill biopic DARKEST HOUR also had a strong start with a $44k per-screen average.

Next weekend offers only a few new limited release options such as Woody Allen's WONDER WHEEL, James Franco's THE DISASTER ARTIST, and Guillermo del Toro's THE SHAPE OF WATER.

Which December release are you most interested in seeing? VOTE HERE!