
Family-Friendly TROLLS BAND TOGETHER Earns Solid Thanksgiving Box Office Take
By Movieguide® Contributor
Despite strong competition from THE HUNGER GAMES and WISH, TROLLS BAND TOGETHER put up solid box office numbers over Thanksgiving weekend, ending with a global gross of over $145 million.
TROLLS BAND TOGETHER marks Dreamwork’s biggest debut since the release of the third HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON movie in 2019. While the animation studio is known for high-budget blockbusters, it has changed its strategy in recent years.
Its last two hits, PUSS IN BOOTS: THE LAST WISH and THE BAD GUYS, were produced on mid-level budgets, costing between $80-$110 million each, compared to Disney’s latest animated projects, which have cost no less than $200 million to produce.
With the lower production cost, TROLLS BAND TOGETHER’s box office haul of $25 million over the Thanksgiving weekend is a solid success, while WISH’s marginally higher $31 million is viewed as disappointing.
Dreamwork’s movies have been largely boosted by their commitment to telling uplifting, family-friendly stories. A portion of Movieguide®’s review of TROLLS BAND TOGETHER reads:
TROLLS BAND TOGETHER has great music, great character arcs, an impressive amount of love and humor, and a moral theme of not letting anyone steal your talent. The movie also has a heartwarming theme about loving your family. There is a caution for younger children, because there are some scary scenes as well as the death and resurrection of one character, but for children starting at age eight or older, the movie is an absolute delight, and highly recommended.
TROLLS BAND TOGETHER features Anna Kendrick and Justin Timberlake as the main characters, with support from Zooey Deschanel, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Icona Pop, Ron Funches, Kenan Thompson and Kunal Nayyar.
The movie was directed by Walt Dohrn, who filled the same role for the second movie in the franchise.
Movieguide® previously reported:
TROLLS BAND TOGETHER director Walt Dohrn recently spoke with Movieguide® about the uplifting, family-focused themes in his latest movie.
“[Family is] a big part of what the movie is,” he began. “I mean it’s definitely fun and exciting and you laugh, and you dance, but underneath it, it’s these big ideas, and I think family is one of them.”
Dohrn didn’t shy away from the difficult parts of family relationships, though.
“We really get to explore that being in a family is hard. That’s a hard thing to do, it’s not easy all the time. And I especially like that Poppy, who at the time doesn’t think she has any siblings, thinks if she did, it would be perfect, everything would be great…and she learns that it isn’t. But as long as you’re together, you’ll be okay,” he explained.