Disney's Enchanted, which mixes fairytale fantasy with reality and animation with live action, topped the Thanksgiving weekend box office, earning an estimated $50 million over the five-day holiday weekend.  After several lackluster weeks in which the collective box office of the top ten films was considerably below the total from the same weekend a year ago, the Thanksgiving box office rebounded to post a slightly higher total than last year, when Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire earned $54.7 million in its sophomore session.

Paramount's Beowulf, based on a screenplay by Neil Gaiman and Roger Avary, dropped just 41% over the three-day weekend while taking in $23.3 million over the full five-day holiday and running its cumulative to $56.3 million.  Beowulf faced stiffer competition than expected from the videogame-based Hitman, which earned an estimated $21 million over the five-day weekend -- a better performance than most analysts predicted.  Hitman, which has received blistering reviews (only 11% positive on Rotten Tomatoes), split the male action film audience with Beowulf, proving once again that reviews don't really matter with this audience (at least during the opening weekend).  It should be interesting if Beowulf, which has received 70% positive reviews, can demonstrate any 'legs' over the next few weeks.  A domestic gross of $100 million appears likely for Beowulf, which cost $150 million to produce.  Beowulf has done well overseas, earning $48.6 million so far, and could well end up earning more in foreign markets than it does in the U.S.

The Mist, a horror film based on a Stephen King novel, debuted at #8 with an estimated total of $13 million over the five-day holiday.  Thanksgiving has never been especially kind to horror film releases, but The Mist, which has generated strong reviews for a horror movie (69% positive on Rotten Tomatoes), could still have a chance at a decent run, if it can generate strong word of mouth from the horror aficionados who saw it during its opening weekend.

The potency of the African-American movie-going audience was powerfully displayed by the performance of This Christmas, which earned an estimated $18.6 million over the five-day weekend, averaging a strong $10,011 per venue.  The family reunion drama drew an audience that was two-thirds African-American and came in second for the weekend despite being shown in just 1,858 theaters (versus 3,730 for Enchanted).