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Greetings David!
Moana 2 Shatters Records at Thanksgiving Box Office in North America
Disney’s highly anticipated Moana 2 made a splash this Thanksgiving weekend, leading a record-breaking box office with an unprecedented $221 million in North American ticket sales, according to studio estimates. Paired with the strong performances of Wicked and Gladiator II, the five-day holiday stretch became a historic moment for cinemas.
Expectations were already high for Moana 2, but the animated sequel exceeded them, setting a new Thanksgiving weekend record. The previous benchmark was held by Frozen 2, which earned $125 million during its second week of release in 2019. Adding $165.3 million internationally, Moana 2 achieved a staggering $386 million worldwide, marking the second-best global opening of the year.
Meanwhile, Wicked continued its impressive run. The Universal Pictures musical adaptation brought in $117.5 million over the five-day weekend, boosting its two-week global total to $359.2 million. Wicked has now become the highest-grossing Broadway adaptation, surpassing Grease. (While Grease grossed $190 million during its initial release in 1978, inflation-adjusted earnings would place it over $900 million.)
Gladiator II, Ridley Scott’s sequel to his Oscar-winning epic, also showed resilience. The film earned $44 million in its second weekend, representing a 44% dip from its opening. Despite its hefty $250 million production budget, Gladiator II has reached $320 million globally, making strides toward profitability.
Together, these three films propelled the overall Thanksgiving weekend box office to an all-time high of $420 million in ticket sales, according to Comscore—over $100 million ahead of the previous record of $315 million set in 2018.
This holiday weekend marks a triumphant moment for theaters, signaling robust audience demand for major blockbusters.
Cheers,
Call Sheet Media
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