Moana 2 Crushes At The Weekend Box Office Again As It Hits Another Big Milestone

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As a gamer with a soft spot for movies, especially animated ones, I must say that the success of Moana 2 is nothing short of breathtaking! Growing up, Disney was always my go-to when it came to movies, and seeing this sequel break records and outshine some of the biggest hits of the year is truly heartwarming.

In late November, the film industry doesn’t usually experience its busiest weekend. This makes sense when you consider that a multitude of blockbusters released around Thanksgiving can discourage major competition. The absence of these new releases also has a cooling effect on the marketplace. Consequently, it’s no surprise to find that the four highest-grossing films at the box office this weekend are carryovers from November. However, there are still some intriguing figures to analyze.

After a successful debut of Moana 2 over the past weekend, breaking records, the Walt Disney Animation Studios film has once again taken the top spot as the leading domestic movie. For those interested, you can find the complete Top 10 list below and we’ll discuss further insights later on.

Moana 2 Crosses $300 Million Domestically And Further Rockets Up The Worldwide Box Office Charts

Last weekend saw the release of “Moana 2” by Dana Ledoux Miller, Jason Hand, and David Derrick Jr., following closely behind Thanksgiving. The movie made a massive impact, raking in $139.8 million domestically, landing it the third largest opening weekend of 2024, trailing only Shawn Levy’s “Deadpool & Wolverine” ($211.4 million) and Kelsey Mann’s “Inside Out 2” ($153.2 million). The impressive earnings have solidified its position as one of the year’s top earners, even though ticket sales in the U.S. and Canada slightly decreased afterwards.

As reported by The Numbers, the sequel to Moana brought in an additional $52 million since last Friday. This represents a substantial decrease of 63% compared to its previous weekend’s earnings, which is something to monitor as the film plays in theaters until December. However, what truly catches our attention is that the Disney production has already grossed over $300 million domestically.

Currently, the movie is closely competing with Jon Chu’s “Wicked” in this year’s domestic box office rankings. As of now, “Wicked” has earned $320.5 million, having had a one-week advantage. By the end of the year, both films are projected to surpass Chris Renaud’s “Despicable Me 4,” which made $361 million during its summer run. However, for either title to exceed the earnings of “Inside Out 2” ($653 million) or “Deadpool & Wolverine” ($636.7 million), it would require an extraordinary turn of events.

In countries outside of the U.S. and Canada, the performance of Moana 2 seems to be outshining Wicked. Unlike Wicked, which has garnered $135 million overseas, Moana 2 has managed to earn an equivalent amount in international markets as it has domestically.

With a gross revenue of $600 million, this film has already secured its position as the fifth highest-grossing movie of 2024, surpassing blockbusters like Adam Wingard’s “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” ($568.7 million) and Mike Mitchell’s “Kung Fu Panda 4” ($548 million). To overtake Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune: Part Two” ($608.7 million), it needs to earn another $108.7 million. However, to dethrone “Despicable Me 4” ($966.5 million) from the third spot, a significant leap in revenue is required.

A notable comeback for Walt Disney Animation Studios can be observed, particularly with the success of Moana 2, following a disappointing box office performance of their previous release, Wish, last year, earning just $240.4 million. The booming success of Moana 2 is beneficial for the movie industry as well, but it’s important to hope that this doesn’t encourage WDAS to overly rely on sequels in the future years.

Glicked Isn’t Barbenheimer, But The Two Movies Have Continued To Be A Paired Success

To put it simply: Barbenheimer truly stands out as a cinematic phenomenon unlike any other. Movie studios might strive for decades to create blockbuster duos that can achieve simultaneous success, but nothing will ever rival the hype and profits generated by Greta Gerwig’s Barbie and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer releasing at the same time.

All that being said, Glicked is still turning out to be a solid win for the big screen experience.

In the last week of November, both “Wicked” and Ridley Scott’s “Gladiator II” debuted in cinemas. Within three days, they collectively amassed approximately $168 million at domestic box offices. Although “Moana 2” has been a formidable rival, both films have sustained their success. To date, their combined domestic earnings stand at $453.3 million, and they’ve made around $824 million worldwide.

Even though the earnings of Oppenheimer (which amassed a total of $976.8 million worldwide) aren’t quite on par with Barbenheimer, there is a strong anticipation that upcoming blockbusters in 2024 will maintain their significant presence among the Top 10 box office earners for the remainder of the year.

It’s also worth mentioning that, disregarding inflation, the box office earnings of Gladiator II surpass those of its 2000 original. The Best Picture winner featuring Russell Crowe earned a total of $451.7 million during its 50-week stint in cinemas, and the sequel is steadily approaching this amount, having already made $368.4 million.

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2024-12-08 23:37