Disney’s ‘Moana’ No. 1 at box office

NEW YORK — Disney’s South Pacific animated tale “Moana” fell short of a “Frozen”-size debut but nevertheless dominated the Thanksgiving box office with an estimated $81.1 million over the five-day weekend.

The well-reviewed “Moana,” about a princess’s mythical journey in ancient Polynesia, earned $55.5 million from Friday to Sunday in North America, according to studio estimates Sunday. Though it didn’t match the 2013 Thanksgiving release of “Frozen” ($93.6 million over five days in 2013), “Moana” (“MWAH-nah”) scored the second-highest Turkey Day debut ever.

Boosted by the star power of Dwayne Johnson and the appeal of original songs from Lin-Manuel Miranda of “Hamilton,” “Moana” landed Disney another big hit in a year full of them. The studio has notched four of the top six films (“Finding Dory,” “Captain America: Civil War,” “Zootopia,” “The Jungle Book”) and still has “Star Wars: Rogue One” coming in December.

“If you look at the track record of this year, there’s definitely a correlation to the films that have broken out and become hits,” said Dave Hollis, head of domestic distribution at Disney. “Each of (Disney’s top performers) had Rotten Tomatoes scores in the 90 percent range, each of them had CinemaScores that were A’s. If you make something that has great story and huge scale and is ultimately living under the brand, the chances of having success are overwhelmingly higher.”

Falling to second was J.K. Rowling’s “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” which earned $65.8 million over the five-day weekend and $45.1 million over the threeday weekend. The Harry Potter spinoff, from Warner Bros., has brought in $156.2 million in two weeks.

Those two blockbusters far outpaced more star-driven films.

The Brad Pitt-Marion Cotillard World War II romance “Allied” opened with a mediocre $18 million over five days.

But Warren Beatty’s first film in 15 years, the 1950s Hollywood comedy “Rules Don’t Apply,” resolutely bombed with $2.2 million over the fiveday weekend.

“Bad Santa 2,” from Broad Green and Miramax, didn’t flop as badly as “Rules Don’t Apply,” but it pulled in a scant $9 million over five days.