Box Office: Disney’s ‘Wish’ Fizzles, ‘Napoleon’ Beats Expectations as ‘Hunger Games’ Lands on Top Again

variety.com:

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Disney may need to find another star to wish upon. “Wish,” the studio’s newest animated adventure, was projected to land on top of box office charts over the Thanksgiving holiday.

Instead, ticket sales fell short of expectations with a weak $19.5 million over the traditional weekend and $31.7 million over the five days, and the film tumbled to third place behind Lionsgate’s “The Hunger Games” prequel “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” and Ridley Scott’s historical epic “Napoleon.” Heading into the weekend, the musical fable “Wish” was projected to earn $35 million over the traditional weekend and $45 million to $50 million in its first five days of release.

Ticket sales weren’t as catastrophic as the studio’s 2022 flop “Strange World” ($12 million over the traditional weekend and $18 million through the five days), but it didn’t come anywhere close to 2021’s “Encanto,” which opened to $40.3 over its first five days when COVID was keeping families at home.

And it’s a far, far cry from Disney’s pre-pandemic Thanksgiving releases, like 2019’s “Frozen II” ($123.7 million), 2018’s “Ralph Breaks the Internet” ($84.6 million) and 2017’s “Coco” ($71 million). “Wish” also added $17.3 million at the international box office, opening in just 27 markets (about 40% of its eventual overseas footprint), bringing its global tally to $49 million.