'Moana 2' and 'Wicked' Propel Thanksgiving Box Office to $420M, Breaking Records

Thanksgiving weekend brought a historic $420 million in domestic box office sales, led by "Moana 2's" $221 million debut. The record-breaking holiday also saw "Wicked" and "Gladiator II" contributing to Hollywood's resurgence in theaters.

Record-Breaking Thanksgiving Box Office Sales

Reuters reports that along with "Wicked" and "Gladiator II," the Walt Disney animated musical "Moana 2" has the highest opening weekend of any Thanksgiving holiday in North American cinematic history, with an estimated $368 million worldwide as of Sunday.

"Moana 2" is the animated sequel to the 2016 film that reunites Auli'i Cravalho and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as the demigod Maui and the titular wayfinder on a quest to break a curse and bring the oceanic people back together.

During the Thanksgiving weekend, from Wednesday through Sunday, "Moana 2" grossed a record $221 million at the box office, despite its origins as a series planned for Disney+. At $125 million, it was more than "Frozen 2's" 2019 holiday total.

The cumulative US box office take for all films playing this weekend was $420 million, shattering the previous record of $315.6 million set in 2018 over Thanksgiving by "Ralph Breaks the Internet" and "Creed II."

Hollywood Celebrates Post-Pandemic Recovery

The outcomes gave Hollywood studios and theaters cause for celebration following the protracted closures caused by the COVID-19 outbreak and worries that people could forego going to the movies in favor of domestic streaming services.

"If you make the right movie, a movie with heart and humor that appeals to audiences, they will come to the theater," said Alan Bergman, co-chairman of Disney Entertainment, during a recent showing of "Moana 2" in Los Angeles.

Additionally, the numbers demonstrated that Hollywood had recovered from the setbacks incurred due to the writers' and actors' strikes that occurred last year. In the first half of 2024, cinema chains like Cineworld and AMC Entertainment had a very slim schedule for moviegoers.

Thanksgiving Box Office Leaders: Wicked and Gladiator II

Per Investing.com during Thanksgiving, the Broadway musical "Wicked," which is a prequel to "The Wizard of Oz," earned $117.5 million. According to Universal Pictures, the worldwide total after two weekends in theaters was $359.2 million.

"Gladiator II," the action epic from Paramount Pictures that followed up on the best-picture winner from two decades ago, earned $44 million at the box office over the holidays, bringing its worldwide total to $320 million.

Domestic ticket sales for the year were over 11% lower than they had been up to this point in 2023, according to Comscore data, which was compiled before the weekend. The gap was reduced to 6.4% in the Thanksgiving tally.

Future Holiday Releases Aim for Strong Finish

Revenue was nevertheless far lower than it had been before the outbreak. Compared to 2019 so far, domestic ticket sales for 2024 were down about 24% as of Sunday.

The madness at the movies this weekend will most certainly lead to solid sales in the next few weeks, according to Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore. He mentioned several big-budget films that could hit theaters in December, saying they would "help the industry take the year out on a high note."

The animated "Lord of the Rings: the War of the Rohirrim," "Sonic the Hedgehog 3," "Mufasa: The Lion King," and "Kraven the Hunter" are among them, he added.