Enchanted Rules By Far Thanksgiving Weekend
Enchanted, a fairytale movie by Disney in a modern setting, raked in almost twice as much money as the second movie, This Christmas. Disney's story of a cartoon princess exiled to real-world Manhattan snatched more than $35 million, with a total of around $50 million over the "five-day weekend." Sony Screen Gems' family reunion holiday tale This Christmas only sold about $18 million worth of tickets.

AP reports that Enchanted had the second-best five-day Thanksgiving debut ever, behind the $80.1 million grossed by Toy Story 2, also by Disney.

"It's a really good place to launch a movie," said Chuck Viane, head of distribution for Disney, to AP. "When you get a movie as strong and well-playing as this, it bodes well for us right through the Christmas holiday."

In Enchanted, a beautiful princess, Giselle (Amy Adams), is banished by an evil queen (Susan Sarandon) from her magical, musical animated land and thrown in modern-day Manhattan. Recovering from her initial shock, Giselle falls in love with a charmingly flawed divorce lawyer (Patrick Dempsey), even if she is already promised to a perfect fairy tale prince (James Marsden).

Also, according to Rentrak quoted by Variety, Enchanted's Friday B.O. is also the highest among Disney live-action fare playing over the Thanksgiving frame, surpassing the $13.1 million generated by the 101 Dalmatians in 1996 (a live-action remake of the 1961 hit).

Box office estimates, as reported by Media By Numbers LLC:

1. "Enchanted"                       - $35.3 million
2. "This Christmas"                 - $18.6 million
3. "Beowulf"                            - $16.2 million
4. "Hitman"                             - $13 million
5. "Bee Movie"                        - $12 million
6. "Fred Claus"                       - $10.7 million
7. "August Rush"                     - $9.4 million
8. "American Gangster"           - $9.2 million
9. "The Mist"                           - $9.1 million
10. "No Country for Old Men" - $8.1 million