• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, November 27, 2023

Disney’s latest animated adventure, “Wish,” failed to materialize as Thanksgiving Day weekend’s box-office leader, grossing just $19.5 million instead of the $35 million expected by industry analysts.

The film also fell short over its first five days, at $31.7 million, instead of an expected $35 million to $45 million.

“Wish” made an additional $17.3 million internationally, to bring its five-day total to $49 million.

Disney is hoping that “Wish," with a production budget of $200 million, will have a long tail similar to Pixar’s “Elemental” summer release. “Elemental,” which also had a $200-million budget, disappointed in its first weekend with $29.5 million in North America and $44.5 million globally, but ended up grossing $148 million in North America and $425 million worldwide over its first two months.

With the exception of “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” most of Disney’s 2023 films have underperformed at the box office.

Domestically, “Wish” was outperformed both by the second weekend of Lionsgate’s “The Hunger Games” prequel, “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes,” and Ridley Scott’s “Napoleon.”

“Ballad" generated $28.8 million over the T-Day weekend and $98.3 million over the five days, to bring its North American and global totals since its opening the previous weekend to $98.3 million and $200 million, respectively.

“Napoleon” -- a period epic with a $200 million budget, starring Joaquin Phoenix -- exceeded expectations with $21 million over the three-day weekend and $32.5 million over the five days.

“Trolls Band Together” -- from Universal and DreamWorks Animation, also in its second weekend -- came in fourth, with $17.5 million and $25.3 million over the three- and five-day T-Day periods, respectively. The animated flick, which targets the same family audience as “Wish,” has grossed $145 million worldwide since its debut.

Sony’s “Thanksgiving” slasher was fifth, with $7.1 million and $11.1 million over the three- and five-day periods, respectively.