As a longtime movie enthusiast who has witnessed the evolution of cinema, I must admit that this past Thanksgiving weekend was nothing short of extraordinary! The box office success of Moana 2, Wicked, and Gladiator II has left me absolutely spellbound.
In its premiere, Moana 2 stormed into cinemas, raking in an estimated domestic earnings of $221 million (according to The Numbers), making it the top earner during the five-day holiday weekend. On this journey, it managed to shatter multiple box office records. Moreover, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s latest collaboration with Disney for Moana 2 set a new record for the biggest opening weekend debut during the fall movie season, surpassing the previous holder, Wicked ($112.5 million).
As a cinephile, I’m thrilled to share that the much-anticipated sequel to Moana has shattered records, outperforming The Super Mario Bros. Movie’s five-day opening weekend record of $204.6 million with an impressive $221 million debut! Moreover, this animated adventure isn’t just breaking records; it’s setting new standards, claiming the title for the best Thanksgiving premiere in history.
Moreover, it’s worth noting that not only did Moana 2 garner impressive accolades, but its $54.5 million earnings on Black Friday, November 29 set a new record for the highest Black Friday box office collection ever. The film, led by the Johnson family, also performed exceptionally well abroad, accumulating an additional $165.3 million, bringing its global total to a staggering $386.3 million. Meanwhile, Wicked and Gladiator II maintained their popularity, holding their own against the competition.
‘Wicked’ & ‘Gladiator II’ Continue to Thrive Despite ‘Moana 2’
Over the weekend, the top-grossing film was Wicked, but it slipped to second place, earning approximately $117.6 million over five days. Interestingly, its performance between its first and second weekends showed a minimal decline of just 29%. In comparison, Gladiator II, starring Denzel Washington, took the third spot with earnings of around $44 million.
Currently, both blockbusters are experiencing significant success not just domestically, but also internationally. Jon M. Chu’s “Wicked” has earned an additional $96.8 million, bringing its worldwide total to $359.3 million. On the other hand, Ridley Scott’s long-awaited sequel to “Gladiator” (2000) has performed exceptionally well overseas and beyond, raking in $208.8 million for a global earnings of $320 million.
The movie titled “Red One” became Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s second film this weekend to make it into the top 5, earning the No. 4 spot with a revenue of $12.9 million over three days, and experiencing only a slight decrease of 2% compared to last week. Meanwhile, “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” also showed stability, decreasing by just 4%, securing its place in the top 5 with earnings of $3.3 million.
On the weekend, Moana 2 took the top spot for highest per-theater earnings with $32,262, and Wicked followed closely behind with an equally impressive $20,576. It’s also worth mentioning that the film Queer by A24, starring Daniel Craig, made its debut in limited release (7 venues) over the holiday weekend. This romantic drama showcased a remarkable per-theater average of $26,973, earning it a place among the Top 15 with a total of $188,808.
2024 appears to be the year of sequels dominating the box office, with this trend further reinforced by the success of Moana 2. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (Dec. 20) could maintain this theme as we approach the end of the year; however, the opening weekend in December seems relatively quiet when it comes to potential challengers to the anticipated releases of Moana’s sequel, Wicked, and Gladiator II.
It’s quite possible that the most captivating movie title coming up next week could be the IMAX re-release of Christopher Nolan’s film “Interstellar”. Just want to clarify that the Amy Adams horror-comedy “Nightbitch”, opening on December 6th, along with “Werewolves”, “The Order”, “Y2K”, and “The Return” are also worth noting.
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2024-12-02 01:33