Thanksgiving Weekend Box Office : A Weekend to Warm a Mogul’s Heart

The record Wednesday-through-Sunday Thanksgiving holiday box-office total will be a tough one to beat. The final $133-million estimate released on Monday for all major films easily tops the previous $111-million mark racked up in 1990. Enormous numbers for 20th Century Fox’s “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York” led the field, but huge as its $38.9-million take is, the Thanksgiving champ remains Universal Pictures’ “Back to the Future Part II,” which grossed $43 million in 1989.

Walt Disney’s “Aladdin” and Warner Bros.’ “The Bodyguard” battled for second and third place, both also grossing huge numbers. Columbia Pictures’ “Bram Stoker’s Dracula” continued to thrive in fourth place, on its way to $100 million. “Malcolm X,” with limited daily showings due to its long running time, drew very high numbers.

* Miramax Pictures shed no tears: The romantic thriller “The Crying Game,” as a limited premiere, drew a healthy $142,405.

Thanksgiving Weekend Box Office

Weekend Gross/ Screens/ Weeks in Movie (Studio) Total (millions) Average Release 1. “Home Alone 2” $38.9 2,231 2 (Fox) $74 $17,467 2. “Aladdin” $25.1 1,131 3 (Walt Disney) $25.8 $22,400 3. “The Bodyguard” $24.4 1,717 1 (Warner Bros.) $24.4 $14,212 4. “Bram Stoker’s Dracula” $14 2,491 3 (Columbia) $70 $5,632 5. “Malcolm X” $11.4 1,249 2 (Warner Bros.) $26.6 $9,127 6. “Passenger 57” $5.3 1,854 4 (Warner Bros.) $33 $2,859 7. “A River Runs Through It” $4 1,080 8 (Columbia) $28.3 $3,774 8. “Under Siege” $3.4 1,560 8 (Warner Bros.) $72.4 $2,179 9. “The Last of the Mohicans” $1.9 1,175 10 (Fox) $68 $1,643 10. “The Mighty Ducks” $1.6 1,481 9 (Walt Disney) $44.4 $1,087 * “The Crying Game” $142,405 6 1 (Miramax) $142,405 $23,734

SOURCE: Exhibitor Relations Co. and industry estimates