Holiday weekends at the movies

As a rule, Thanksgiving is the biggest holiday for moviegoing, and the one just ended was no exception because school is out all over the U.S. and pre- and post- turkey activity boosts attendance over a five-day period. A couple of notable exceptions include the weekend that ended Jan. 1, 2002, and Memorial Day weekends of ’04 and ’05. Memorial Day weekends figure in two of the top five holiday periods, remarkable because they encompass four days instead of five. (Of the remaining top 10 holidays at the box office, five took place over Thanksgiving.) It’s rare for a New Year’s weekend (or Christmas, for that matter) to do whopper business because people are otherwise engaged, unless the day happens to fall on a Monday, as it did on New Year’s Day in 2002.

Source: Exhibitor Relations Co.

*--* Domestic gross, top 50 movies Holiday Days Top films $247.8 million New Year’s 5 ‘The Lord of the Rings: 12/28/01- The Fellowship of the Ring,’ 1/01/02 ‘Ocean’s 11,’ ‘Jimmy Neutron’ $246.2 million Memorial Day 4 ‘Shrek 2,’ ‘The Day After 2004 Tomorrow,’ ‘Troy,’ ‘Raising Helen’ $243.8 million Thanksgiving 5 ‘How the Grinch Stole 2000 Christmas,’ ‘Unbreakable,’ ‘102 Dalmatians,’ ‘Rugrats in Paris’ $233.8 million Thanksgiving 5 ‘Harry Potter and the Goblet of 2005 Fire,’ ‘Walk the Line,’ ‘Yours, Mine & Ours’ $231.5 million Memorial Day 4 ‘Star Wars: Episode III Revenge 2005 of the Sith,’ ‘Madagascar,’ ‘The Longest Yard,” “Monster-in-Law’

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