“Harry Potter” narrowly avoids getting “Tangled”

In a surprisingly close box-office race this weekend, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 1,” in its second week, fended off Disney’s latest animated hit, “Tangled.” Although the five-day Thanksgiving totals were not as close (“Harry” won by a good $6 million), the three-day total put “Harry” ahead by fewer than $400,000.

1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 1 – $49 M (weekend) … $219 M (gross)
2. Tangled – $48.7 M … $68.7 M
3. Megamind – $12.5 M  … $130.2 M
4. Burlesque – $11.9 M … $17.3 M
5. Unstoppable – $11.4 M … $60.4 M
6. Love and Other Drugs – $9.7 M … $13.9
7. Faster – $8.5 M … $12 M
8. Due Date – $7.1 M … $84.8 M
9. The Next Three Days – $4.6 M … $14.3 M
10. Morning Glory – $3.9 M … $26.3 M

That’s not to overshadow the accomplishment of Disney’s newest film. “Tangled” earned $68.7 million in its first five days, a massive success for any non-Pixar family film made by Disney and consequently, the biggest non-Pixar Disney opening ever. 56 percent of those totals were thanks to 3-D showings. Only “Toy Story 2” has performed better over the five days of Thanksgiving weekend — in terms of films opening that Wednesday. Disney has always owned the holiday with eight of the top ten all-time in these five days. In other animated news, “Megamind” stayed strong with the family-friendly weekend, falling just 20 percent from last weekend.

Among the other newcomers, only Christina Aguilera’s debut “Burlesque” managed to break the top five with a three-day total of $11.9 M and $17.3 M over the five days. For a film debuting in more than 3,000 theaters that cost $55 million to make, however, it’s hardly a victory. Other newcomers “Love and Other Drugs” and “Faster” made fewer than $10 million over the weekend and fewer than $15 million over the five-day span.

“Unstoppable” owned up a bit to its title and made fifth, dropping just 12 percent, most certainly due to great word of mouth.