The long Thanksgiving weekend has barely gotten started but Ralph Breaks the Internet is already on track to break some box office records. The Disney sequel brought in $18.5 million on Wednesday, which has resulted in the movie getting its five-day weekend total estimate raised up to $94 million, which would make it the biggest Thanksgiving weekend opening of all time.
It's a busy Thanksgiving weekend at the movies with three major releases, including Ralph, Creed II, and Robin Hood. The numbers are looking good for two of those movies, as in addition to Ralph Breaks the Internet's $94 million Creed II is looking to bring in something upwards of $60 million. However, Robin Hood is in much worse shape. It only brought in a little over $3 million on Wednesday and is tracking to do about $17 million by the time the weekend is over.
Needless to say, an opening weekend that, according to THR, some believe might exceed $100 million, is a huge opening for Ralph Breaks the Internet. The original film, which opened in early November back in 2012, didn't quite break $50 million in its opening weekend and while we are talking about comparing five days to three in that case, it still shows that the audience for Ralph has grown over the years. The current Thanksgiving weekend record holder is Disney's Frozen which brought in $93.6 million.
Disney has pretty much owned the Thanksgiving weekend over the last several years, with recent successes like Coco and Moana but neither of those has really competed for the best ever crown as Ralph is currently doing. The fact that Ralph Breaks the Internet is a sequel is certainly a large part of that reason. The characters are already known and loved by fans. Of course, theatrical sequels to animated Disney films are a rare thing. Only the Rescuers Down Under and Fantasia 2000 have previously hit the screen.
Disney has had rules against theatrical sequels in the past but that is clearly over as next November will see the release of another high profile Disney sequel, Frozen 2. Interestingly, it might not be the box office champ over the Thanksgiving weekend next year. While it was originally set to open on the Wednesday before the holiday, the film has now been moved up to open on the previous Friday. It may still win the long weekend, but it may not set any records since the biggest crowds will likely be there on its opening weekend.
Have you been to see Ralph Breaks the Internet this weekend or are you planning on checking it out before the weekend is over? Let us know in the comments.
