Thanksgiving weekend proved to be good for the Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn comedy “Four Christmases,” which debuted at No. 1 with $31.7 million, according to studio estimates on Sunday.
The Warner Bros. flick that features Witherspoon and Vaughn as a couple who suffer through four separate family holiday gatherings, raised a total of $46.7 million since it opened on Wednesday.
Revenue-wise, it was Hollywood’s second-biggest Thanksgiving period ever. The top 12 movies took in $223.7 million from Wednesday to Sunday, trailing only the $232.2 million haul over Thanksgiving in 2000.
Summit Entertainment’s vampire romance “Twilight,” which had a huge No. 1 opening the previous weekend, took a big 62 percent decline from its $69.6 million debut and was neck-and-neck for second place with Disney’s animated family film “Bolt.”
According to Sunday’s estimates, “Bolt” had a slight lead with $26.6 million for the weekend, compared to $26.4 million for “Twilight.” Rankings could, nonetheless, change once final numbers are released today, Monday.
“Twilight’ is still a phenomenon, but you can’t really maintain that level of intensity week after week,” said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Media By Numbers.
“Twilight” raised its 10-day total to $119.7 million, while “Bolt” lifted its sum to $66.9 million.
Hollywood typically releases a handful of holiday-themed movies starting in November, but “Four Christmases” has the market all to itself this season.
“It was the perfect time. It’s the only movie out there that deals with Christmas,” said Dan Fellman, head of distribution for Warner Bros.
The only potential competition of the said move will come yet on Dec. 12 with the John Leguizamo tale “Nothing Like the Holidays.”
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