After the record-breaking feast audiences enjoyed over the Thanksgiving holiday, this weekend will look a bit stingy by comparison.  Traditionally one of the slower frames of the year, this weekend will come down to a showdown between major holdovers The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and Frozen.  Catching Fire had the edge on Friday, adding an estimated $7.7 million to its domestic total.  Frozen should pull ahead on the weekend chart, however.  The Disney hit is projected to pull in about $30 million on its sophomore frame, compared to Katniss’s $28 million.

Yesterday brought only one fresh wide release: Relativity’s Out of the Furnace.  The R-rated thriller took in an estimated $1.8 million from 2,001 locations on Friday after posting an uninspiring $27,076 from four locations on Wednesday and Thursday.  Compare that to the $123,340 that Inside Llewyn Davis claimed from its four locations on Friday.  On its first day in theatres, the latest from Joel and Ethan Coen averaged almost $31,000 per screen for one of the best limited debuts in recent memory.  We’ll have complete details tomorrow.

It looks like this year’s Thanksgiving box office will be a record breaker on multiple fronts.  Both The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and Frozen are now on pace to top $90 million by Sunday, besting a five-day holiday high set by the first Harry Potter film in 2001.  Catching Fire burned brightest on Black Friday: bringing in an estimated $31.2 million, or a decline of just 56% from its opening day.  The sequel has earned more than $253 million domestically and is currently tracking ahead of Iron Man 3  after eight days in theatres.

Black Friday was also profitable for Frozen.  Disney’s animated feature took in an estimated $26.8 million yesterday and is now expected to earn $67 million for the three-day weekend, or about what Tangled took in over five days during the 2010 Thanksgiving frame.  The outlook is not as promising for the week’s other new releases.  Homefront placed sixth on Friday with just $2.6 million and is not expected to exceed $10 million in its first five days.  Even so, the week’s top two films appear strong enough to drive overall grosses past $291 million and a new domestic record for the long Thanksgiving holiday.

On its first day in 4,136 locations, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire took in an estimated $70.5 million, including $25.25 million from its Thursday night previews.  That is higher than the $67.2 million The Hunger Games earned from its opening in March 2012 as well as the $68.8 million of Iron Man 3.  For weeks, those two films have guided weekend projections for Catching Fire, with the sequel expected to land somewhere between the $152.5 million of its predecessor and the $176.1 million of IM3.

This morning, however, expectations have been scaled back a bit.  Catching Fire is now targeting a more modest $152 million through Sunday, or about $15 million less than originally expected.  Of course, anything above $142.8 million would still be enough to strip The Twilight Saga: New Moon of its record for the biggest November opening of all time.  But, considering that it has been an article of faith that the sequel would top its predecessor, the fact that that is now in doubt qualifies as a surprise.  Check back tomorrow to see how it all plays out.

One week after Thor: The Dark World stormed the domestic box office, the God of Thunder is facing some unexpected competition from The Best Man Holiday. In a surprise finish, Universal’s ensemble dramedy edged out Thor 2 for Friday’s top spot by just over $200,000. The Dark World is still expected to retain its crown with a projected $37 million this weekend, though the surprising draw of The Best Man Holiday may render Thor’s hold a little less impressive than anticipated.

Thanks to some last minute schedule changes, The Best Man Holiday was Friday’s only new wide release. The sequel to the 1999 sleeper-hit The Best Man, Holiday earned an estimated $10.7 million from 2,024 locations on its first day in theatres. That puts the Universal release on track for about $31 million by Sunday, or nearly double the studio’s own projection. We’ll have complete details tomorrow.

It wasn’t quite as mighty as it could have been, but the debut of Thor: The Dark World was still pleasing to the gods of Disney and Marvel. According to studio estimates, the sequel earned an estimated $31.6 million from 3,841 locations on Friday, including $7.1 million from Thursday night previews. That’s a 20% improvement over the launch of the first Thor in 2011 and puts Thor 2 on course for a weekend gross of $81 million. Considering that many projections had The Dark World pacing Fast & Furious 6 ($97.3 million) on its debut weekend, today’s estimate looks a bit soft. However, Disney announced on Wednesday that $80 million was its target so, mission accomplished. We’ll have full details and the top ten when you check back tomorrow.

After an uneven October dominated by just one title, November’s box office got off to a more equitable start. Two of Friday’s new releases did solid business on their opening days – with Ender’s Game coming out on top, as expected. The sci-fi adaptation earned an estimated $9.9 million from 3,407 locations on Friday, including $1.4 million from Thursday pm and midnight previews.  That puts Ender’s Game on track for close to $30 million through Sunday – a bit higher than the $26 million start Lionsgate was expecting.

Targeting a more ‘mature’ audience, Last Vegas is also off to a good start. The CBS Films title earned an estimated $5.1 million from 3,065 venues on Friday. That puts Last Vegas on track for a $15 million first weekend – the high end of expectations for this star-studded comedy. Compared to its live-action compatriots, Free Birds looks like the frame’s only turkey. The animated feature earned just $4 million on Friday despite having the widest release of the week at 3,736 locations. Even with the typical Saturday kiddie bump, Free Birds is not projected to earn more than $16 million through Sunday. We’ll have complete details tomorrow.

After leading the box office for three consecutive frames, Gravity will slip to second this weekend. No surprise, the movie that is taking the deep-space drama down is Bad Grandpa – the latest feature in the successful Jackass franchise. According to Paramount estimates, Bad Grandpa earned $12.6 million on Friday, including $1.4 million from Thursday night and midnight previews. That puts the R-rated release on track for about $30 million through Sunday: significantly topping the studio’s lowball $19 million projection.  Though knocked from first, Gravity remains a box office force. The global hit should take in another $20 million this weekend, putting it close to $200 million in total domestic earnings.

Ridley Scott’s The Counselor failed to make its case to audiences in spite of its A-list credentials. The Fox drama starring Michael Fassbender, Penelope Cruz and Brad Pitt earned an estimated $3.2 million on its first day in theatres. That means that The Counselor is unlikely to hit $10 million this weekend – the higher end of the film’s (very modest) pre-release projections.  We’ll have complete details and the top ten tomorrow.

Buoyed by its surprisingly lucrative launch, Gravity had no trouble holding on to first place on Friday. The Warner Bros. hit added an estimated $12.7 million to its domestic total yesterday, or a decline of just 27% from its opening day. That puts Gravity on course for close to $45 million this weekend and a ten-day domestic total of more than $120 million. That’s an incredible achievement for an October release and it will put Gravity in the same range as this summer’s World War Z after two weekends.

Captain Phillips had to settle for a second place start on Friday. Even so, the reality-based drama had a stronger than expected opening, taking in an estimated $8.5 million from 3,020 locations. Captain Phillips is now targeting $25 million this weekend, giving Tom Hanks his best opening since 2009. Machete Kills is not as well placed. The frame’s second new release earned an estimated $1.4 million from 2,538 runs on its first day and is not expected to top $4 million through Sunday. We’ll have complete details tomorrow.

After what has proved a disappointing year for the sci-fi genre, Gravity is on pace for a surprisingly robust debut. The Warner Bros. thriller earned an estimated $17.5 million from 3,575 locations on Friday (including $1.4 million from Thursday late-night screenings) and is now targeting a three-day total of $48 million or higher. Initial projections for director Alfonso Cuaron’s feature were closer to $35 million, but with stellar reviews (98% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) and a heavy presence in 3D and IMAX venues, it’s easy to see why the film’s prospects improved so dramatically. At this point, both George Clooney and Sandra Bullock are looking at new career-high openings with Gravity, and the film itself is poised to become one of October’s highest debuts of all-time.

The weekend forecast was not so sanguine for Runner Runner.  Fox’s R-rated thriller earned an estimated $2.75 million from 3,026 locations on Friday and is expected to fall short of $8 million this weekend.  We’ll have complete details and the top ten tomorrow.

After an animation dry spell that left Disney’s Planes the only feature flying for nearly two months, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2 lifted-off on Friday. The sequel to 2009’s 3D hit earned an estimated $9.3 million from 4,002 locations, which means that a new September record is probably not on the menu for the Sony release. At this time last year, Hotel Transylvania banked $10.9 million on its way to that record-setting $42.5 million first weekend. Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2 seems destined for about $37 million by Sunday – short of a record but well ahead of the $30.3 million debut of the first Cloudy.

After a good start in just five locations last weekend, Ron Howard’s Rush expanded its run on Friday. From 2,297 locations, the racing drama earned an estimated $3.7 million for second place. The frame’s remaining new releases ran about even on Friday: R-rated comedy Don Jon (directed by and starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt) took in $3.27 million from 2,422 locations while romantic comedy Baggage Claim booked $3.29 from 2,027 runs. Check back tomorrow for full details.

Kidnapping drama Prisoners easily claimed first-place on Friday, with an estimated $7.01 million from 3,260 locations. Backed by solid reviews and a ton of promotional appearances by stars Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal, Prisoners should end its first weekend as expected with just over $20 million. Also new on Friday, Battle of the Year earned an estimated $1.5 million from 2,008 locations. The 3D dance pic is looking at a three-day total of $4.5 million, or less than half what distributor Sony/Screen Gems was hoping for.

Insidious Chapter Two placed second yesterday, down a sizable 77% from its ‘Friday the thirteenth’ debut. Finally, The Wizard of Oz was back in theatres on Friday – with a little something extra. Seventy-four years after its premiere, the 3D re-release of Oz took in a reported $751,000 from 318 IMAX locations and should reach $3 million by Sunday. Check back tomorrow for full details, including updates on the week’s limited releases.

September is usually a slow month at the box office, but you wouldn’t know it by looking at Friday’s launch of Insidious Chapter Two. The sequel to the 2011 horror hit pulled in an estimated $20.06 million from 3,049 locations yesterday, topping the debuts of both The Conjuring ($16.9 million) and The Purge ($16.7 million) from earlier this year. Insidious Chapter Two is now on track for as much as $42 million this weekend; putting it close to September’s all-time opening record set by Hotel Transylvania in 2012. It is worth noting, however, that Insidious Chapter Two opened on Friday the 13^th, which means that it could be more front-loaded than your average horror movie. And, unlike The Conjuring, which enjoyed an unusually warm critical reception, Insidious 2’s current Rotten Tomato score of 37% could hurt word of mouth.

The weekend’s only other major release came in a distant second on Friday. Luc Besson’s The Family earned an estimated $5.4 million from 3,091 venues and should realize at least $14 million through Sunday – a number that is actually in line with projections for the gangster film starring Robert DeNiro.  We’ll have full details tomorrow.

In case that line of school buses didn’t tip you off, summer is officially done. In box office terms, that means acclimating to September and its more-modest movie prospects – starting with Riddick. As the weekend’s only major studio release, the sci-fi sequel pulled in an estimated $7.3 million from 3,107 locations on Friday. That points to a first weekend of about $18 million for Riddick: a substantial drop from the $23 million that Universal was hoping for. That would have been in line with the $24.2 million debut of Chronicles of Riddick in June 2004. Of course, that film ended as a big disappointment with its worldwide total of just $115.7 million.

Holdovers made up the remainder of Friday’s top five, including Instructions Not Included. The Spanish-language comedy expanded its run to 717 locations this weekend after stunning the box office with one of the summer’s most impressive debuts over the Labor Day holiday.  Check back tomorrow for full details.

Hollywood’s three new releases were no match for holdovers at Friday’s box office. Lee Daniels’ The Butler remained on top with an estimated $4.7 million, followed by the three week-old comedy We’re the Millers. Those rankings aren’t expected to change by Sunday, ensuring that this pre-Labor Day weekend will be one of the least-lucrative of the summer.

Among the frame’s new titles, The World’s End showed the most promise. The R-rated comedy earned an estimated $3.5 million on its opening day in 1,549 locations – not a particularly impressive number until you note that The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones earned just $3.1 million from twice as many locations. The adaptation of Cassandra Clare’s fantasy novel debuted at number one on Wednesday but should have trouble reaching its modest goal of $15 million after five days. You’re Next, the one new release that had chance to unseat The Butler based on tracking, opened to a disappointing fifth place instead. The well-reviewed horror film earned an estimated $2.9 million from 2,437 locations on Friday and is projected to take in $8 million this weekend. We’ll have full details tomorrow.

Earlier this week Universal’s Kick-Ass 2 was the clear frontrunner for weekend box office glory but, what a difference a day makes. The R-rated action-sequel earned an estimated $5.8 million from 2,381 locations for second place on Friday, but should fall to third by Sunday. Just as Kick-Ass 2 descended, Lee Daniels’ The Butler was on the rise. With a big assist from co-star Oprah Winfrey, the TWC release claimed a Friday estimate of $8.3 million from 2,933 locations and a new weekend target of $25 million or higher. That would put the prestige pic in the same range as The Help – the Oscar-winner that lit up 2011’s late-summer box office.

Though it would be difficult to tell from the top five chart, Friday’s box office hosted two additional new releases: Jobs and Paranoia.  The biopic starring Ashton Kutcher as Apple co-founder Steve Jobs took in $2.6 million from 2,381 locations and sixth-place on Friday. Paranoia fell flat with just $1.3 million from 2,459 venues. Based on Friday’s estimate, the thriller starring Liam Hemsworth and Harrison Ford will struggle to top $4 million through Sunday.   Check back tomorrow for full details.