The Thanksgiving extended weekend numbers are coming in and there is some good news for The Walt Disney Company, and some less-than-good news. The good news first, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever continues to win at the box office. With one more day left for the holiday weekend, Wakanda Forever looks like it will garner an estimated 5-day total of $65 million.
In less-than-good news, newcomer Strange World from Walt Disney Animation Studios is not having nearly as strong of a weekend. It was initially projected to bring in $30 million for the holiday weekend. However, it doesn’t look like it will be reaching this number. Instead, it brought in $11.2 million from Wednesday through Friday. Overall, it looks like it will be struggling to hit $20 million for the five-day weekend. With a budget that was reportedly between $120 million and $130 million, this looks like it could turn into one of Walt Disney Animation Studios’ biggest bombs at the box office.
The film is already drawing comparisons with Disney’s Treasure Planet from 2002. This film earned a mere $16.6 million during the course of the Thanksgiving weekend opening. The film would go on to make only $110 million globally and had a $140 million budget before inflation. Treasure Planet, however, did earn an A- from audiences on CinemaScore. Strange World received a grade of B from CinemaScore for its opening day audiences. This makes it the first Walt Disney Animation Studios film to earn less than an A or A- than CinemaScore. Comscore/ Screen Engine’s PostTrak gave the film a better result with a 4/5 on CinemaScore. Women in general gave the film a 91% positive rating and men over 25 only 66% overall positive rating.
Traditionally the Thanksgiving holiday weekend is a strong one, often because of a movie released by Walt Disney Animation Studios. This has been particularly true from 2016 to 2019. The overall box office is down from 2021’s $142 million at $137 million. A bulk of this is thanks to Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which brought in 48% of the overall gross revenue at the box office.
Have you seen Strange World yet? If so, what did you think of it? Do you think it is deserving of this box office performance and reviews? Share your thoughts and opinions in the comments below!