Which studio’s going to have the most to be thankful for this Thanksgiving weekend? Summit Entertainment, yet again. Even with three new contenders entering the race, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 snagged the top spot with ease on Wednesday, adding another $12.5 million to its already massive $171.5 million pot. Should Breaking Dawn continue to just about match New Moon‘s numbers, it’ll take about $40 million this weekend and $70 million for the six-day holiday stretch.
Trailing far behind in second place should be The Muppets, which began its run with a $6.6 million Wednesday, putting it on track for a $30 million weekend and a $44 million holiday week. It’ll be a tight race for the third position as second-weeker, Happy Feet Two, and newcomer Arthur Christmas were a mere $500,000 apart yesterday. While Arthur Christmas may have the holiday time appeal, the power of the squeal could overcome, giving Arthur Christmas $16 million for the weekend and $26 million for six days and Happy Foot Two $18 million for three and $28 million for six.
Sadly it’ll also be a tight race between Immortals, Jack and Jill and the far superior newcomer Hugo for the fifth position. Then again, Hugo is only arriving in 1,277 theaters, meaning it’ll still have a far superior per theater average despite its grand total. I have high hopes positive word-of-mouth will give Hugo the boost it needs to bypass the competition, posting $10 million for the weekend and $16 million over the next six days while Immortals snags just $9 million from Friday to Saturday and $12 million from Wednesday to Sunday and Jack and Jill takes $7 million for the regular weekend and $11 million for the long haul.
Puss in Boots continues to hold on rather strong, but a second entry in the animation department could give it quite the knock. After a $1.6 million Wednesday, Puss could go on to take $6 million for the weekend and $9 million for the six-day run. Thanks to A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas’ fast decline, Tower Heist and J. Edgar should have no trouble holding onto the ninth and tenth spots, respectively. After a $7.1 million third weekend, Tower Heist could lose about 35% of that in week four, giving it $4.5 million for the weekend and $6.5 million for six while J. Edgar is poised to earn about $3.5 million for three days and $5 million from Wednesday to Sunday.
Shockya.com Predictions
1. The Twilight Saga – Breaking Dawn
2. The Muppets
3. Happy Feet Two
4. Arthur Christmas
5. Hugo
6. Immortals
7. Jack and Jill
8. Puss in Boots
9. Tower Heist
10. J. Edgar
By Perri Nemiroff (via Box Office Mojo)
