TURKEY AND POPCORN; THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY STUFFS THE NATION'S MOVIE THEATERS.

Byline: Dave McNary Staff Writer

Moviegoers mobbed multiplexes over the first two days of the Thanksgiving holiday, with ``Toy Story 2'' attracting an overwhelming $23 million in gross receipts at 3,235 theaters during the Wednesday-Thursday period, studio sources said Friday.

The sequel's impressive performance, well above forecasts, should drive the overall five-day holiday box office well past last year's $182.3 million record.

``Toy Story 2'' topped the combine total of the next two biggest draws - $11.2 million for Arnold Schwarzenegger's ``End of Days'' and $10.7 million for the 20th James Bond movie, ``The World Is Not Enough.''

``Sleepy Hollow'' finished a close fourth with $8.6 million at 3,064 theaters to give it nearly $45 million in its first seven days.

``Everyone wanted to see these four movies,'' said Robert Bucksbaum, president of the Reel Source tracking service, noting that overall business was up 25 percent over the same two days last year. ``The weather was perfect both days.''

The top 12 films grossed $34.4 million on Thanksgiving after taking in $27 million Wednesday.

With movie going expected to be at its busiest of the year Friday and today, ``Toy Story 2'' should smash the five-day Thanksgiving holiday record set last year by ``A Bug's Life'' with $45.7 million. Bucksbaum predicted the total could hit $60 million by the end of Sunday.

Disney has launched ``Toy Story 2,'' co-produced by Pixar Animation, amid rave reviews and a massive marketing campaign taking advantage of the residual good will from the unexpected success of the 1995 original. It marks the fifth consecutive Thanksgiving box office led by a Disney film, starting with the $39.1 million for ``Toy Story,'' followed by $45.1 million for ``101 Dalmatians,'' $35.9 million for ``Flubber'' and ``A Bug's Life.''

The Thanksgiving Day performance also pulled Disney past the $1 billion mark in domestic grosses for 1999, marking the fifth time in the past six years that the studio has topped the 10-figure mark. It recently hit the $1 billion figure in 1999 foreign receipts and leads Hollywood studios in both categories.

The performance by Universal's ``End of Days,'' which opened Wednesday at 2,592 theaters and backed by a marketing campaign stressing Schwarzenegger, special effects and action, marks a potentially solid return for the star to the big screen for the first time since 1997's somewhat disappointing ``Batman & Robin.'' Besides Schwarzenegger's marquee power, the apocalyptic thriller also benefited from the continuing strong market for suspense and horror films.

The showing by MGM's ``The World Is Not Enough'' indicates it may have enough staying power to remain a solid draw for the rest of the year. It's screening at 3,163 sites this weekend, and the Wednesday-Thursday results pushed it past $50 million in its first week.

It could wind up the weekend ahead of ``End of Days'' since it carries a PG-13 rating as opposed to the R designation of its rival. Both could top the $30 million mark for the five-day period.

Paramount's Sleepy Hollow,'' which opened with $30.1 million last weekend, should also continue to generate strong business and could finish the five days with well over $25 million.

Business for the remaining movies was less impressive, with a pair of holdovers battling for fifth with $2 million each during Wednesday and Thursday - Warner Bros. ``Pokemon: The First Movie'' at 3,043 theaters and Universal's ``The Bone Collector'' at 2,448 sites.

Lion's Gate's ``Dogma'' came in seventh with $1.5 million at 1,292 locations, followed by 20th Century Fox's ``Anywhere But Here'' with $1.1 million at 1,666 sites, Disney's ``Insider'' with $875,000 at 1,689 theaters and USA Films' ``Being John Malkovich'' with $645,000 at 589 screens.

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2 Photos

Photo: (1 -- color) Space Ranger Buzz Lightyear leads a pack of heroic playthings in Disney's ``Toy Story 2,'' doing gangbusters at the box office.

(2 -- color) Arnold Schwarzenegger, with Robin Tunney, has regained some star power with the $11.2 million opening of Universal's ``End of Days.''