Friday Report: 'Tangled' Unfurls Past 'Potter'
The post-Thanksgiving doldrums were in full effect on Friday. Tangled edged out Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 just as the movies' trajectories suggested, though neither held well. Hollywood generally shuns the post-Thanksgiving timeframe in regards to new releases, and it was no exception this weekend: The Warrior's Way was the sole nationwide debut and a weak one at that. Overall Friday business was down 23 percent from the same Friday last year when The Blind Side led and there were several nationwide openings.

Tangled drew an estimated $5.1 million, tumbling 74 percent from last Friday. Enchanted was off 66 percent at the same point, grossing nearly as much and selling more tickets. In ten days, though, Tangled has generated $80.1 million, which was far ahead of Enchanted' comparable $58.4 million tally.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 plummeted 77 percent to an estimated $4.8 million, falling harder and making less than The Twilight Saga: New Moon and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire on their post-Thanksgiving weekend Fridays. In 15 days, Deahtly Hallows Part 1 has earned $232.3 million, trailing New Moon's $245 million and all previous Potters but Prisoner of Azkaban in terms of estimated attendance.

The family movies in general were most affected without the holiday glow as Megamind saw a 78 percent Friday-to-Friday depletion, falling to eighth place after coming in third last Friday. Among other holdovers, Burlesque held a bit better than Rent at the same point, slowing 56 percent to an estimated $2 million for a $22.9 million ten-day sum. Love and Other Drugs dropped 48 percent to just under $2 million for an $18.9 million haul in ten days. Unstoppable, Due Date and Faster slotted in sixth, seventh and eighth place, respectively.

Few followed The Warrior's Way, which moseyed in with an estimated $1.12 million at 1,622 locations and ranked ninth for the day. The cartoonish, cowboys and ninjas action movie made significantly less than such low-flying movies as Jonah Hex, Dragonball Evolution, Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li and Punisher: War Zone, which grossed $1.67 million on the same Friday in 2008.

In limited release, Black Swan produced a lot of clatter, garnering an estimated $426,000 at 18 locations, while I Love You, Phillip Morris was relatively ignored, grossing an estimated $30,000 at six locations.

Related Chart

Grosses for Friday, Dec. 3