CRUISING

‘Moana’ 2nd Best Thanksgiving Debut Ever

New Disney film pulls in $81.1M over five-day period.

The new Disney film Moana earned $81.1 million over the five-day holiday weekend and $55.5 million on Saturday and Sunday, cruising to the top of this year’s Thanksgiving box office. The film now ranks as the second biggest Thanksgiving debut after the Disney hit Frozen. “We are working with the greatest brands and we’re doing big, broad storytelling that resonates domestically, but has the power to transcend borders and languages and cultures around the world,” said Dave Hollis, Disney’s distribution chief. Allied, a Paramount film starring Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard, didn’t fare as well, pulling in $18 million over the same five-day period and $13 million over the weekend. Bad Santa 2 earned just $9 million and $6.1 million, respectively, and Warren Beatty’s Rules Don’t Apply, a romantic-comedy about Howard Hughes, earned a sad $2.2 million over the five-day weekend.