Disney battles Bond and Potter for box office No. 1

How on earth are we going to have time to eat our turkey? With five new releases competing with James Bond and Harry Potter, this Thanksgiving holiday is one of the most crowded movie weekends ever.

The best bet for the eventual victor is “Treasure Planet,” the latest animated entry from Disney. Featuring the voices of Emma Thompson and David Hyde Pierce, the film is described as a cross between Robert Louis Stevenson’s “Treasure Island” and “Star Wars.”

With the exception of last year, when “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” was the top Thanksgiving-weekend flick, Disney usually has a hold on the holiday weekend. Expect “Treasure Planet” to be Disney’s ticket back to the top slot with a five-day debut of $45 million.

That’ll push “Die Another Day” back to second place. The 20th James Bond film premiered with $47.1 million last weekend and stands to drop a bit to about $35 million this weekend, just ahead of “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets,” which will push ever closer to the $200 million mark with $30 million.

Two of Hollywood’s coolest leading men premiere unusual films this weekend, as well. First, George Clooney reteams with his “Out of Sight” and “Ocean’s 11” director Steven Soderbergh for the sci-fi romance “Solaris,” which will test his drawing power with an ambiguous tone and rather slow pacing. But fans looking for something a bit different this weekend have no better option. Thanks to all the publicity about Clooney’s butt shots, “Solaris” should manage a $20 million debut and the No. 4 spot.

Rounding out the top five, Adam Sandler provides numerous voices for the Hanukkah cartoon “Adam Sandler’s Eight Crazy Nights,” which, if it’s anywhere near as original as his “Hanukkah Song,” should be quite interesting. Sandler fans (not to mention that long-neglected Jewish moviegoing block) should line up to the tune of $15 million.

Opening outside the top five will be two low-buzz debuts: the horror flick “They,” starring Marc Blucas, and the action thriller “Extreme Ops,” with Rufus Sewell and Bridgette Wilson. Definitely two movies you won’t want to see with a full stomach.