Thanks to Disney’s Moana 2, Universal’s Wicked and Paramount’s Gladiator II, the five-day Thanksgiving was the biggest box office success in movie history. “Moana 2” grossed $221 million in domestic ticket sales, making it the highest-grossing film ever for a Thanksgiving weekend. “Wicked” continues to soar, increasing estimated ticket sales for the holiday season by $117.5 million. “Gladiator II” grossed an additional $44 million during the same period.
This year’s Thanksgiving box office was a huge success, and there was no hunger.
The tag team of Disney’s “Moana 2,” Universal’s “Wicked” and Paramount’s “Gladiator II” made the five-day Thanksgiving holiday the biggest box office gross in movie history, with an estimated $420 million as of Sunday. recorded dollars.
“A perfect storm of Thanksgiving box office sales, fueled by three films from the musical, epic drama, and family movie genres, pushed the theatrical market through post-summer malaise,” said Paul Dergarabedian. “This is the most opportune time to revitalize it.” , Senior Media Analyst at Comscore.
“Moana 2” led the box office with $221 million in five days, far exceeding the $100 million box office revenue that analysts had originally expected. This marked the highest Thanksgiving weekend box office performance in film history, surpassing 2019’s “Frozen II,” which took in $125 million during the Thanksgiving period.
“Wicked” continues to soar with estimated ticket sales of $117.5 million for the holiday season, bringing its domestic total to $262.42 million. It is currently the highest-grossing Broadway film in history at the domestic box office. Worldwide, the film grossed $359.2 million after 10 days in theaters.
“Gladiator II” added $44 million to its Thanksgiving total. The film generated an estimated $111.2 million in domestic ticket sales in its first 10 days in theaters, and has grossed $320 million worldwide since its international release earlier this month.
“There are not enough words to describe this historic weekend in movie theaters,” said Sean Robbins, director of analytics at Fandango and founder of Box Office Theory. “When one movie exceeds expectations, like “Moana 2,” that’s a big story in itself. When major movies like “Wicked” and “Gladiator II” are great at the same time, it’s It is a powerful reminder of the importance of continued appreciation” in preserving our culture. ”
Thanksgiving holiday box office revenue hasn’t exceeded $200 million since 2019, according to ComScore data. And by the end of this week, only one over the Thanksgiving period had exceeded $300 million.
The previous record was in 2018, led by “Ralph Breaks the Internet,” “Creed II” and “Fantastic Beasts: Where to Find Them.” These titles helped generate a total of $315 million in ticket sales.
Higher box office sales during this year’s Thanksgiving period also help close the gap between 2024 and 2023 box office sales. Box office revenues for 2024 were hit hard following the double labor strike in Hollywood the year before, production was halted and many blockbusters were postponed to 2025 or beyond.
Heading into this holiday period, 2024 box office revenue was down 11% year-over-year. The difference currently stands at 6.4%, according to comScore data.
Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC. NBCUniversal distributes “Wicked” and owns “Fandango.”
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