Coco Officially Tops Justice League At Holiday Weekend Box Office

Coco has officially defeated Justice League at the Thanksgiving weekend box office. Disney-Pixar’s latest rode glowing reviews to a victorious five-day opening, marking another big success for the studio on the long holiday weekend. Snyder’s Justice League, meanwhile, has suffered through below-average reviews and polarizing reactions from fans to earn what will ultimately be a disappointing bottom line for Warner Bros. and DC Films. It was going to be a tall task for Justice League to have a chance against Coco, with families gravitating toward the usually reliable Pixar.

It should come as no surprise that Coco would eventually win the full weekend over Justice League, with each of the single-day results favoring the new animated fantasy film about a young Mexican boy and aspiring musician who learns why his ancestors banned music in prior generations. Though over 100,000 fans are petitioning to see Snyder’s original cut of Justice League, they likely won’t be getting it – and the movie they got is still on track to be the biggest commercial disappointment of DC’s extended cinematic universe.

As reported by The Wrap on Sunday, Coco topped the long weekend at the North American box office with $72 million from Wednesday-Sunday, compared to $59.5 million for Justice League in second place. Coco earned $50 million on Friday-Sunday alone.

Grossing just $171.5 million domestically through its first 10 days, Justice League became the first DC extended universe movie to earn less than $200 million over that period. Coco, meanwhile, far outpaced conservative projections of $55 million for the five-day weekend. It’s the third-biggest Thanksgiving opening ever, behind fellow Disney properties Frozen ($93.4 million) and Moana ($82 million). Bolstered by a strong start in Mexico, Coco’s worldwide total is at $153.4 million through five days.

Coco is already a winner for Disney-Pixar and a nice rebound from the relatively disappointing Cars 3, which ended up earning $383 million worldwide. The former is already almost halfway to that total after just five days since its U.S. release – and still has yet to debut in certain international markets. Coco has clearly resonated with audiences, as evidenced by its A+ CinemaScore and strong box office draw. It’s a stark contrast to the mixed reception for Justice League, which despite a growing group of high-profile supporters and 83 percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes could not achieve the same commercial success as Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice.

With no big-budget releases coming out until Star Wars: The Last Jedi on Dec. 15, Coco has a good chance to keep performing even as buzzworthy award contenders like The Disaster Artist (Dec. 8) start to hit theaters. Justice League, however, remains on track to potentially lose up to $100 million for Warner Bros. The future may be in doubt for DC’s cinematic universe, but Aquaman is well into production and still expected out next December. The Jason Momoa-starring film now represents WB’s hope for a major bounce-back from Justice League’s underwhelming returns.