"Breaking Dawn 2," "Skyfall" and "Lincoln" lead Thanksgiving holiday weekend, with DreamWorks' "Rise of the Guardians" posting a five-day opening of $32.6 million.
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn -- Part 2 easily topped the box office chart again this weekend, taking in $43.1 million over three days and $64 million over five days. After two weeks in theaters, the final installment in the blockbuster franchise has earned $227 million domestically and $577.7 million worldwide.
Sam Mendes' Skyfall came in number two, grossing $36 million over three days and $51 million over five days. The movie, earning $221.7 million to date, is the first James Bond feature to earn $200 million or more domestically. Internationally, the film's estimated total is roughly $568.1 million for a worldwide haul of $790.1 million.
Steven Spielberg's awards contender Lincoln continued to build momentum, coming in third place with a five-day gross of $34.1 million for DreamWorks and distribution partner Disney. Lincoln, earning $25.1 million for the weekend itself, has now grossed $62.2 million domestically.
Animated feature Rise of the Guardians placed number four, posting a five-day opening of $32.6 million. The weekend total was $24 million. Rise of the Guardians -- about how Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and other childhood heroes protect the world from evil -- opened to $10 million overseas for an early international total of $13.5 million.
Ang Lee's Life of Pi did better than expected in its opening to nearly match Rise of the Guardians, posting a three-day gross of $22 million and a five-day take of $30.2 million for 20th Century Fox. Overseas, the $120 million movie debuted to a strong $17.5 million.
Disney Animation Studios' Wreck-It Ralph, posing unexpected competition for Rise of the Guardians in North America, came in at number six in its fourth outing with a three-day gross of $16.8 million and five-day gross of $23 million. The animated feature’s domestic total is $149.5 million.
MGM and FilmDistrict's long-delayed Red Dawn remake -- the third new Thanksgiving debut after Life of Pi and Guardians -- posted a solid five-day gross of $22 million.
Paramount's Flight, directed by Robert Zemeckis and starring Denzel Washington, came in eighth in its fourth weekend out, earning $8.6 million for a total of $74.9 million.
David O. Russell's Silver Linings Playbook -- starring Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro and Jacki Weaver -- came in at number nine with $4.6 million for the three days and $5.9 million for the five days, pushing its domestic total to $6.5 million.
Rounding out the list at number 10, Ben Affleck's Argo grossed 3.9 million. The Warner Bros. feature has earned $98.1 million domestically.
Box office numbers were obtained on boxofficemojo.com.
Formerly Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network, Jennifer Wolfe has worked in the Media & Entertainment industry as a writer and PR professional since 2003.
