"The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2" lorded over "The Good Dinosaur" and "Creed" during its five-day run in the United States and Canada.
The finale that features Katniss Everdeen, convincingly played by Jennifer Lawrence, drew a massive audience.
Though "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2" posted the lowest opening record in the "Hunger Games" film franchise, it held on to the top spot as other well-crafted films that debuted on Thanksgiving Eve.
The somber finale to the "Hunger Games" trilogy was not greeted with much hurrah by some quarters, yet it generated gross earnings of about $75.8 million in Canada and the US during the Thanksgiving break.
Taking the second spot was Disney/Pixar's positive-rating "The Good Dinosaur" which grossed around $56 million; with "Creed," the movie with a "Rocky" formula starring Michael Jordan and Sylvester Stallone coming in third with $42.6 million gross earnings during the Thanksgiving run, Los Angeles Times reported.
"The Good Dinosaur" took several years to fine tune, and was considered to be one of Pixar's "most challenging" films to date. It was not working well at the start, as studio executives learned back in 2013. Hence, the movie's original May 2014 release date was pushed back.
The creative minds at Pixar eventually figured out the emotional core of the story and upheld the studio's commitment to making great quality films. "The Good Dinosaur" outcome re-energized Pixar, WIRED reported.
"The Good Dinosaur" producer Denise Ream had earlier said in interviews that movies like "Inside Out" and "The Good Dinosaur" represent the new generation of Pixar/Disney films movie watchers had shown eagerness to see on the big screen.
Parents tweeted their excitement on letting their kids see the movie after the red-carpet premiere in Los Angeles.
Pixar Animation studio executives and lead story supervisors had earlier presented to lifestyle writers and bloggers how an animated film like "The Good Dinosaur" springs to life from drawings, sketches and storyboards via a tour of the studios located in Emeryville, California.