US cinemagoers have fallen under the spell of Enchanted, a modern-day fairy tale starring Amy Adams.
The Disney film, which sees a cartoon princess exiled to real-life New York, topped the US and Canada box office, taking $35.3m (£17m) over the weekend.
Second place went to family comedy This Christmas, which took $18.6m (£8.9m), while animated fantasy Beowulf dropped to third, taking $16.2m (£7.8m).
The top five was rounded out by action film Hitman and animation Bee Movie.
Early studio estimates suggest that the top 12 films took $218.1m (£105.5m) over the five-day Thanksgiving weekend, which ran from Wednesday to Sunday.
Film studios will be pleased at the figures, which come after a two month-long slump at the box office.
US AND CANADA BOX OFFICE
"This is good news for Hollywood," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box office analysts Media By Numbers. "This could end up being the second or third-biggest Thanksgiving weekend ever."
Disney's Enchanted took $50m (£24.1m) over the five-day weekend, making it the second highest Thanksgiving debut ever.
Only Toy Story 2 has fared better, with receipts of $80m (£36.8m) in 1999.
It has gained overwhelmingly positive reviews, in particular for leading lady Adams, previously best known for her Oscar-nominated role in quirky comedy Junebug.
"She truly has just this incredible exuberance you don't often see on screen," said the film's producer, Barry Josephson.
"She is a big surprise for people who don't know her. It's a breakout role."
Enchanted is released in the UK on 14 December.
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