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The sequel is one of the few R-rated comedies to ever open over the Thanksgiving holiday

New Line and Warner Bros.' R-rated comedy Horrible Bosses 2 earned a strong $1 million Tuesday night as it began its Thanksgiving assault at the North American box office.

That's well ahead of the $365,000 earned by Horrible Bosses in late-night showings in summer 2011.
Horrible Bosses 2 should prove a winner for New Line and Warner Bros. The sequel, one of the few R-rated comedies to ever dare opening on Thanksgiving, is likely to gross $35 million to $40 million for the Wednesday-Sunday stretch, if not more (that includes late-night Tuesday grosses). For the weekend itself, it could gross $23 million to $25 million.
The first Horrible Bosses opened to $28.2 million on its way to earning a stellar $209.6 million worldwide.
Directed this time out by Sean Anders, Horrible Bosses 2 reteams most of the original cast, including Jason Bateman, Charlie Day and Jason Sudeikis, whose characters set out to start their own business, only to be swindled. Jennifer Aniston, Jamie Foxx, Chris Pine, Christoph Waltz and Kevin Spacey also star.
 a spinoff of DreamWorks Animation's popular Madagascar franchise. Penguins opens everywhere Wednesday (there were no Tuesday night shows).
Jeffrey Katzenberg's DWA needs a box-office success, and while Penguins certainly won't match the $94.6 million grossed by Disney's Frozen last Thanksgiving, it should post a solid five-day gross in the $45 million-$47 million range, including a weekend take of $32 million to $34 million. (Disney's Big Hero 6 continues to hold well, however, and could take a bite out of Penguins.)
That would put it ahead of Horrible Bosses 2, although both movies are expected to cede the Thanksgiving crown to holdover The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 1, which is eyeing a five-day take of roughly $80 million, and $50 million to $55 million for the weekend. Last Thanksgiving, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire likewise topped the holiday frame after opening the week before.
Directed by Eric Darnell and Simon J. Smith, Penguins is voiced by John Malkovich, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom McGrath, Christopher Knights, Chris Miller, Conrad Vernon, Peter Stormare, Ken Jeong and Annet Mahendru.
The other main Thanksgiving attraction is a teaser trailer for J.J. Abrams' Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The 88-second tease will begin playing Friday morning in 30 theaters across the country — before every showing of every movie.

As awards season heats up, there's a slew of offerings for adults at the specialty box office including Stephen Hawking biopic The Theory of Everything, which will be playing in roughly 700 theaters by Thanksgiving Day. Other awards contenders in the marketplace include holdovers Birdman, Foxcatcher, Whiplash and Boyhood, while The Imitation Game, starring Cumberbatch, opens Friday in New York and Los Angeles.