For years, when it came to Thanksgiving, big box-office debuts for Disney animated films were as traditional as turkey and cranberry sauce. This year, however, the studio ceded that prime cartoon slot to DreamWorks Animation’s “Rise of the Guardians,” which opens Wednesday.
But don’t shed any tears for the Mouse House. It scored big after going out early with “Wreck-it Ralph” and may have found a new launch pad for animated blockbusters.
To put things in perspective, four of the top five all-time Thanksgiving weekend openers have been Disney animated releases: “Toy Story 2” ($57 million in 1999), “Tangled” ($48 million, 2010), “101 Dalmatians ($33 million, 1996) and “A Bug’s Life” ($33 million, 1998).