Moana 2 Leads Record Weekend

Moana 2 brought in a tidal wave of moviegoers over the Thanksgiving Day weekend, setting records with $221 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday. That, combined with Wicked and Gladiator II, made for an unprecedented weekend in cinemas and a confluence of blockbusters more like what's often found in late December. Expectations were high for Walt Disney Co.'s Moana 2, but the film still blew predictions out of the water, the AP reports. Its five-day opening set a record for Thanksgiving moviegoing, topping Frozen 2's $125 million in its second week of release in 2019. Moana 2 added $165.3 million internationally; with $386 million worldwide, it's the second-best global launch of the year.

At the same time, Wicked showed no signs of slowing down. The Universal Pictures musical brought in $117.5 million over the five-day weekend, pushing its two-week global total to $359.2 million. Not accounting for inflation, Wicked is now the highest-grossing Broadway adaptation, over Grease; that 1978 film grossed $190 million, though factoring in inflation would put it past $900 million. Gladiator II dipped 44% from its opening weekend, with Ridley Scott's sequel collecting another $44 million. While its steep price tag of $250 million will make profitability challenging, Gladiator II has swiftly gathered $320 million worldwide. Those three films drove the overall box office to a record $420 million in overall Thanksgiving weekend ticket sales, according to Comscore—more than $100 million more than ever before.

Below are estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at US and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.

1. Moana 2, $135 million.
2. Wicked, $80 million.
3. Gladiator II, $30.7 million.
4. Red One, $12.9 million.
5. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, $3.3 million.
6. Bonhoeffer: Pastor. Spy. Assassin, $2.4 million.
7. Venom: The Last Dance, $2.2 million.
8. Heretic, $956,797.
9. The Wild Robot, $670,000.
10. A Real Pain, $665,000.

(More box office stories.)