The post-Thanksgiving weekend is one of a handful every year that offer no new wide studio release. Last year Universal took a successful shot with the off-beat Christmas-themed “Krampus.” Its $16 million opening weekend pushed Top Ten grosses ahead by a small margin from this year’s total.
The strength of two strong holdovers — Disney’s “Moana” and Warner Bros.’ “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” — almost brought the numbers to par. They also pushed the totals above three similar bleak weekends (Super Bowl, post-Labor Day and Halloween) often shunned for top films.
The only new semi-wide release was Blumhouse Productions’ “Incarnate,” directed by Brad Peyton (“San Quentin”), who took advantage of the freedoms of a low budget to make a horror film. The net returns — against a low budget, digital advertising and later earnings — make the just-over $2 million total look pretty good.