After typical studio jockeying back and forth during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, THE CAT IN THE HAT remained on top of the box office chart when all the dust settled. That is, if you count the three-day weekend and not the five-day tally. The Universal movie produced by Imagine Entertainment (with vfx by Rhythm & Hues) hauled in $24.4M for the three-day period (and $32.9M for the five days ended Nov. 30). That brings the CAT total to $75.8M worth of catnip. Following close behind in second place was Disney's THE HAUNTED MANSION (with vfx by Sony Imageworks), which scared up $34M for the five-day period (including $24.2M over the weekend). New Line's surprising ELF (with vfx by Rhythm & Hues, Chiodo Bros. Prods. and Amalgamated Pixels) continued to roll at number three with $30.9M for the five-day period (including $21.6M for the weekend), giving it a great cume of $129M. Warner Bros.' Halle Berry ghost flick, GOTHIKA (with vfx by CafeFX), held the fourth spot with a five-day gross of $18.4M, including a three-day tally of $12.8M and a total to date of $41.2M.
Meanwhile, Dimension's BAD SANTA debuted at number five with a five-day bounty of $16.8M (including a three-day take of $12.2M). Fox's MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD (with vfx by Asylum and ILM) captured the sixth slot with $16.6M for the five-day period (including a $12M three-day gross). To date, the Peter Weir seafaring Oscar-contender has mustered $66.6M. Revolution's THE MISSING debuted at number seven with a five-day gross of $15.2M. The Ron Howard western earned $10.8M of that over the weekend. Paramount's sci-fi thriller TIMELINE (with vfx by ILM and Camera e-Motion) debuted in the eighth position with a five-day gross of $12.4M (including $8.4M over the weekend). Universal's LOVE ACTUALLY came in ninth with a five-day gross of $11.2M ($8.2M of which was gathered over the weekend). To date, the English romantic comedy has brought in $43.3M. Warner Bros.' THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS (with vfx by ESC FX, Animal Logic, BuF Compagnie, Giant Killer Robots, Tippett Studio and Tweak Films) finished 10th for the five-day period with $6.6M ($4.7M of which was tallied over the weekend). The cume for REVOLUTIONS stands at a disappointing $133.3M. BROTHER BEAR actually finished above REVOLUTIONS for the three-day weekend, with $4.8M. For the five-day period, Disney's last traditionally-animated feature brought home $6.4M for a total of $77.6M.
On a final animated note, Sony Classics' highly touted THE TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE debuted in six theaters, grossing $143,762 over the five-day holiday for a per-screen average of $23,960. Box office information obtained from boxofficemojo.com.
Bill Desowitz, former editor of VFXWorld, is currently the Crafts Editor of IndieWire.
