DreamWorks suffers after "Rise of the Guardians" opens weak at holiday box office

"The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2," "Skyfall" and "Lincoln" all boosted their box office take over the Thanksgiving weekend, but "Rise of the Guardians" was not as lucky.

The animated adventure film opened at No. 4, taking in $36.2 million since it opened on Wednesday, and the disappointing debut is affecting its studio's bottom line - DreamWorks Animation's stock was down 4.5 percent at $17.24 as of 9:40 a.m. on Monday, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

• "Twilight," Bond, "Lincoln" top holiday box office
• Alec Baldwin on voicing Santa in "Rise of the Guardians

Box office analysts had higher hopes for "Guardians," which features modern incarnations of familiar characters including Jack Frost, Santa Claus, the Sandman and the Easter Bunny. Deadline reports that most analysts expected the film to bring in $58 million over the five-day holiday weekend.

THR reports that Janney Montgomery Scott analyst Tony Wible called the film's debut "one of the most disappointing releases in [DreamWorks Animation]'s history -- especially in light of the long weekend, record-breaking U.S. box office gross over the weekend, the holiday-focused plot and lack of competition."

Another analyst, Barton Crockett of Lazard Capital Markets, said he now expects "Guardians" to generate a $15 million loss for the studio instead of an estimated $39 million profit. According to Deadline, he also estimates the film will make $145 million at the domestic box office, down from his earlier projection of $176 million.

"Rise of the Guardians" featured the voices of Alec Baldwin, Chris Pine, Jude Law, Isla Fisher and Hugh Jackman.