9:10 AM PST 11/28/2019 by
Walt Disney Studios; Claire Folger
'Frozen 2,' 'Knives Out'
'Queen & Slim' is also coming in ahead of expectations.
Walt Disney Animation's Frozen 2 is headed for a record Thanksgiving feast of $135 million at the North American box office.
The female-skewing family film grossed a huge $23.8 million Wednesday, its sixth day in release and the beginning of the five-day holiday frame. That's the top gross ever for the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, upending 2013's The Hunger Games: Catching Fire ($20.8 million).
As of now, Catching Fire is the current crown holder for top Thanksgiving earner with a five-day gross of $109.9 million, not adjusted for inflation. Second up is the first Frozen, which earned $93.7 million for the five days in 2013 (unlike the sequel, Frozen didn't open nationwide until the Wednesday before the holiday).
Frozen 2 — finishing Wednesday with a domestic tally of $187.6 million — isn't the only title contributing to what's shaping up to be a bountiful holiday following a dismal November at the box office.
Rian Johnson's whodunit Knives Out opened to a pleasing $8.5 million Wednesday, putting the star-studded ensemble pic on course for a five-day debut of $38 million, well ahead of expectations.
From Lionsgate, MRC and T-Street, the film stars Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Don Johnson, Toni Collette, Lakeith Stanfield, Katherine Langford, Jaeden Martell and Christopher Plummer. (MRC shares a parent company, Valence Media, with The Hollywood Reporter.)
Universal and Makeready's Queen & Slim — helmed by acclaimed music video director Melina Matsoukas in her feature directorial debut from a script by Lena Waithe — is also overperforming. The film opened to $1.7 million Wednesday for a projected five-day haul north of $15 million, likewise ahead of expectations.
Queen & Slim stars Daniel Kaluuya and Jodie Turner-Smith as a couple on their first date who are forced to go on the run after a traffic stop gone wrong.
Both Knives Out and Queen & Slim landed A- CinemaScores from audiences.
Holdovers Ford v Ferrari and A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood are also seeing a nice holiday bump with projected five-day grosses of $21 million and $15 million, respectively.
