Thanksgiving Box Office Record: Moana 2 Scores Dazzling $225 Million Debut, Wicked Adds Huge $118 Million
by Rebecca Rubin
Dec. 1, 2024


Movie theaters finally have something for which to be thankful.

Disney’s Moana 2 cemented a new Thanksgiving box office record with $225 million over the five-day holiday frame, obliterating the previous high-water marks set by 2019’s Frozen II ($125 million) and 2013’s The Hunger Games: Catching Fire ($109 million).

The film’s three-day tally of $139.7 million registers as the best start for Walt Disney Animation ahead of Frozen II ($130.2 million the weekend prior to Thanksgiving).

It's also making waves at the international box office, where it’s opening ahead of expectations with $163.8 million and bringing the global tally to $389 million.





Universal’s adaptation of Wicked and Paramount’s action epic Gladiator II, both of which opened last weekend, are continuing to bring out audiences. Together, the trio of big-budget blockbusters are powering the biggest Thanksgiving period on record with approximately $422 million across all films.

It shattered the previous benchmark set in 2018 with $315 million in grosses across all films, led by Ralph Breaks the Internet, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald and Creed II.





Wicked enjoyed another huge turnout, notching the No. 2 spot with $81.1 million over the traditional weekend and $118.2 million over the five-day holiday stretch. Director Jon M. Chu’s big-screen take on the popular Broadway musical has generated $263.1 million in North America and $359.2 million globally to date.

It already ranks as the highest-grossing Broadway adaptation in domestic box office history, ahead of 1978’s Grease ($188.62 million), as well as the fourth-biggest worldwide stage-to-screen reimagining behind 2008’s Mamma Mia ($611 million), 2012’s Les Miserables ($442 million) and Grease ($396 million).





Gladiator II took third place with $30.8 million over the traditional weekend and $44.2 million over the five-day frame. Ridley Scott’s long-gestating sequel has grossed $111.4 million domestically and $320 million worldwide so far.

Gladiator II was also massively expensive to make, costing more than $250 million to produce and another $100 million to market to global audiences.





In a distant fourth place, Red One added $12.8 million over the traditional weekend and $18.7 million over the five-day holiday frame.

The Amazon MGM film has grossed $75 million in North America and $148.7 million globally after three weekends of release.





Lionsgate’s family-friendly The Best Christmas Pageant Ever rounded out the top five with $3.2 million over the traditional weekend and $4.85 million through the extended Thanksgiving period.

The feel-good holiday film cost $10 million and has grossed $32 million in North America since opening four weeks ago.

https://variety.com/2024/film/box-office/moana-2-box-office-thanksgiving-wicked-massive-second-weekend-1236231692/





November 29 - December 1, 2024: Weekend Studio Estimates

1. Moana 2 $225,441,826
2. Wicked $81,173,815 / $263,195,665
3. Gladiator II $31,030,194 / $111,495,439
4. Red One $12,734,705 / $75,890,659
5. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever $3,220,456 / $31,964,548
6. Bonhoeffer: Pastor. Spy. Assassin. $2,300,167 / $9,645,724
7. Venom: The Last Dance $2,222,577 / $137,885,451
8. Heretic $956,797 / $26,820,699
9. The Wild Robot $700,830 / $142,525,620
10. A Real Pain $655,910 / $6,112,534

Kraven the Hunter Bombs with $11 Million Opening Weekend, Worst Start of Sony-Produced Marvel Films
by Rebecca Rubin
Dec. 15, 2024


Kraven may be the world’s greatest hunter, but the comic book villain couldn’t manage the climb to the top of the box office charts.

Sony’s Kraven the Hunter, a superhero spinoff starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Spider-Man’s notorious foe, launched behind already low expectations, at No. 3 with $11 million from 3,211 theaters.

It landed the worst debut for Sony’s Universe of Marvel Characters behind February’s misfire Madame Web ($15.3 million), as well as some of the franchise’s lowest-ever marks from critics and audiences with a tragic 15% on Rotten Tomatoes and “C” grade on CinemaScore.






Also this weekend, the Warner Bros. anime fantasy film The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim stumbled in fifth place with $4.6 million from 2,602 cinemas in its opening weekend. It carries a modest budget of $30 million, so any losses during its theatrical run won’t be ruinous for the studio.

Plus, box office riches weren’t necessarily the impetus for War of the Rohirrim, based on J. R. R. Tolkien characters and set 183 years before the events of Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, getting the greenlight. The animated film was developed and fast-tracked to ensure that New Line Cinema didn’t lose the film adaptation rights for Tolkien’s novels while Jackson and the teams behind the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies were working on two new live-action films for 2026 and beyond.

The first of those movies, tentatively titled Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, will be directed by and star Andy Serkis.



War of the Rohirrim, which has mixed reviews and a tepid “B” on CinemaScore, faltered last weekend in its international box office debut with just $2 million from 31 territories.

It expands to 42 additional offshore markets over the weekend.






Despite the two newcomers, Disney’s Moana 2 retained the No. 1 spot on domestic box office charts for the third consecutive weekend with $26.6 million from 4,000 theaters.

The Polynesian-set animated adventure, which was originally commissioned for streaming, has become a theatrical smash with $337.5 million in North America and $717 million globally so far. It’s already the year’s fifth highest-grossing movie domestically and fourth-biggest global release.






Universal’s Wicked adaptation earned more than double that of Kraven even though the big-budget musical has already been playing in theaters for a month.

Wicked stayed in second place with a dazzling $22.5 million from 3,689 venues in its fourth weekend of release. The film, starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, has generated $359 million domestically and more than $524 million worldwide to date.

It’s the highest-grossing Broadway adaptation in domestic box office history.






Paramount’s Gladiator II landed in the No. 3 spot with $7.8 million in its fourth frame.

The quarter-century-in-the-making sequel to Ridley Scott’s Oscar-winning 2000 epic Gladiator has earned $145.9 million in North America and more than $398.5 million globally.

https://variety.com/2024/film/news/box-office-kraven-the-hunter-bombs-worst-start-sony-marvel-films-1236247536/






December 13-15, 2024: Weekend Studio Estimates

1. Moana 2 $26,621,000 / $337,516,469
2. Wicked $22,500,000 / $359,038,440
3. Kraven the Hunter $11,000,000
4. Gladiator II $7,801,000 / $145,935,658
5. The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim $4,600,000
6. Red One $4,400,000 / $92,604,878
7. Pushpa: The Rule - Part 2 $3,700,000 / $13,000,000
8. Interstellar (2024 re-release) $3,315,000 / $11,781,083
9. Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem $2,328,339
10. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever $1,350,000 / $36,663,106