Heading into the holiday weekend, Disney and Warner Bros. are expected to win at at the box office with audiences flocking to Coco and Justice League. But one of the films has opened to critical acclaim and the other … well, not so much.
Coco
Pixar’s Coco opened on Wednesday and has already grossed $2.3 million from Tuesday-night previews. The family-friendly film is expected to earn $55 to $60 million over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.
It has already become the highest grossing film of all time in Mexico, where it pulled in $50 million during previews.
Animated movies have historically done well during the holiday, with Pixar films holding the top six spots among the biggest five-day Thanksgiving openings of all time. Although it should be noted, those numbers have not been adjusted for inflation. This year Coco, with a budget of $20 million and a Rotten Tomatoes score that is currently 95% fresh, could beat out the high-budget Justice League in weekend sales.
Justice League
The latest installment from DC’s extended superhero universe debuted to lackluster reviews and disappointing sales.
The opening weekend came in lower than the lowest estimates at $94 million. Based on box office projections, this means Warner Bros. could lose as much as $100 million on the film which cost the company $300 million to produce and another $150 million in global marketing.
Marvel’s Thor: Ragnarok, the third movie in the Thor series, is expected to bring in $20 million more than Justice League over the next five days. This is another in a series of flops from the DC universe and could put the future of franchises like Aquaman and Shazam in jeopardy.
Wonder Woman has been the only recent success for, with record-breaking sales and a sequel planned for 2019.
