The Associated Press’s Jake Coyle
NEW YORK This year, Christmas arrived early at the box office.
According to studio projections on Sunday, Moana 2 shattered records with $221 million in ticket sales over the Thanksgiving Day weekend, drawing a tidal wave of moviegoers. Together with Wicked and Gladiator II, that resulted in an unparalleled weekend at the movies and a collection of blockbusters more akin to those seen in late December.
Although there were huge expectations for Walt Disney Co.’s Moana 2, the movie completely exceeded them. A new Thanksgiving moviegoing record was achieved throughout its five-day run. The previous record, set by Frozen 2 in its second week of release in 2019, was $125 million. Moana 2 brought in $165.3 million abroad.
Meanwhile, the feeling of Wicked didn’t seem to be abating. Over the five days of the weekend, the Universal Pictures musical earned $117.5 million, bringing its two-week total to $359.2 million worldwide. Wicked has surpassed Grease as the highest-grossing Broadway adaption when inflation is taken into consideration. (That 1978 movie made $190 million, but after accounting for inflation, it would have made over $900 million.)
In this Disney artwork, Moana (voiced by Auli’i Cravalho) is seen holding Simea (voiced by Khaleesi Lambert-Tsuda) during a scene from “Moana 2.” (AP via Disney)AP
In contrast, Gladiator II held very decently, falling 44% from its first weekend of release. In its second weekend of release, Ridley Scott’s follow-up to his Oscar-winning best picture original brought in $44 million. Gladiator II has quickly raised $320 million worldwide, despite the fact that its high $250 million price tag will make profitability difficult.
Thanksgiving weekend ticket sales for the whole box office reached a record-breaking $400 million thanks to those three flicks. It was a successful weekend that demonstrated the continued strength of Hollywood’s blockbuster machine, which has been challenged in recent years by the pandemic, work stoppages, and the disruption brought on by streaming. Prior to the release of Gladiator II, Moana 2, and Wicked, ticket sales were roughly 25% lower than they were before the epidemic.
The weekend demonstrated what can be achieved when all the components come together to create captivating, high-budget films with strong marketing, according to Michael O. Leary, president and CEO of the National Association of Theatre Owners.
“We’re really hopeful that this weekend marks the beginning of what we think will be a full-on push into the future,” he said. The remainder of this year appears to be quite promising, followed by 2025 and 2026. We’re hopeful that next year will be the first typical year for this industry in a long time.
The movie business could once again see evidence of a rising tide of moviegoers lifting all blockbusters, similar to the last time such highly anticipated films collided on the release calendar, as in 2023’s much-ballyhooed Babenberger. Studios have generally attempted to space out the majority of their major releases in recent years. For instance, Venom: The Last Dance, which wasn’t very profitable, topped the box office for three weeks in a row earlier this fall.
Hollywood has traditionally held the view that major blockbuster films shouldn’t be paired with one another, according to O Leary. In actuality, though, competition is beneficial. It works well for the films. It benefits the studios. It benefits the theater’s owners. However, it’s very beneficial for moviegoers.
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