HOLLYWOOD, Nov. 28 -- Disney's$?'Toy Story 2' dominated the nation's box office during the Thanksgiving holiday, earning an estimated $80.8 million at 3,236 theaters during the Wednesday-Sunday period, studio sources said Sunday.
$?'Toy Story 2', the computer-generated sequel to its 1995 hit, co- produced with Pixar Animation, obliterated the Thanksgiving holiday record of $45.7 million set last year by$?'A Bug's Life.'
The film grossed $22.8 million on Friday and another $21.5 million on Saturday, breaking the studio record for best single-day gross of $16 million, set last year by$?'The Waterboy.'
With a forecast of $14.4 million for Sunday, the three-day weekend total will be the third-highest of all time, trailing only$?'The Lost World: Jurassic Park' with $72.8 million, and$?'Star Wars Episode 1 The Phantom Menace' with $64.8 million.
$?'Toy Story 2' benefited from a massive marketing campaign, positive reviews and still-strong recognition of the original, which grossed $191.8 million four years ago. The original was the first completely computer-generated film ever released.
The sequel can become the studio's second-highest animated entry ever if it can equal the $217 million domestic total for$?'Aladdin.'
Disney's record-holder for U.S. grosses is$?'The Lion King', with $313 million.
Finishing a distant but impressive second was MGM's second weekend of $?'The World Is Not Enough', with $35 million at 3,163 theaters. The 20th James Bond movie has topped $76 million in 10 days, and needs less than $50 million more to eclipse$?'Tomorrow Never Dies' as the leading domestic grosser in the series.
Universal's opening of Arnold Schwarzenegger's horror-thriller$?'End of Days' followed with a respectable $31 million at 2,592 theaters. $?'Days,' a tale of Schwarzenegger's detective character battling Satan, benefited from the star's drawing power and the strong market for films in the suspense genre.
Paramount's second weekend of$?'Sleepy Hollow' continued to generate impressive business with $27.4 million at 3,067 sites, to pull its 10- day total past $62 million. All told, the first four films grossed nearly $175 million, and the overall box office took in about $210 million to smash last year's Thanksgiving five-day record of $182.2 million.
Warner Bros.' third weekend of$?'Pokemon: The First Movie' finished fifth with $9 million at 3,043 theaters. The animated cartoon neared $78 million overall, followed by Universal's fourth weekend of$?'The Bone Collector,' with $7.3 million at 2,505 screens, and Lions Gate's third weekend of$?'Dogma,' with $4.8 million at 1,292 locations.
Rounding out the top 10 was 20th Century Fox's third weekend of $?'Anywhere But Here' with $3.9 million at 1,666 theaters. Disney's fourth weekend of$?'The Insider' reaped $3.3 million at 1,672 sites, and USA Films' fifth weekend of$?'Being John Malkovich' totaled $2.6 million at 589 locations. Disney's 17th weekend of$?'The Sixth Sense' came in 11th place, with $2.2 million at 1,017 theaters to push its overall take to $272.4 million.
MGM's limited opening of$?'Flawless,' a drama-comedy with Robert De Niro as a recovering stroke victim, generated moderate business with $2 million at 478 theaters.