In its second weekend of release, the Walt Disney Company’s animated picture Moana 2 maintained its top spot at the box office, bringing in yet another record total.
Studios estimated the movie brought in $52 million on Sunday. This raises its global total to an incredible $600 million and its domestic total to $300 million, surpassing the original.
The sum broke the previous record for a Thanksgiving weekend movie, surpassing the $35.2 million made by Frozen II during the same period in 2019. Inflation is not factored into the figures. Moana 2, which was once intended to be a Disney+ series, has already surpassed the previous five highest grossing films of the year. Due to its success, Disney has three movies in the top five this year, including Deadpool & Wolverine and Inside Out 2.Before the year closes, the studio has another major film in the works: Barry Jenkins Mufasa, released on December 20.
The weekend also saw a number of new releases, such as the Jude Law crime thriller The Order and the horror comedy Y2K from A24.However, nothing could ever seriously challenge the alluring Thanksgiving leftovers found in Gladiator II, Moana 2, and Wicked.
With an additional $34.9 million, Wicked took second place at the box office, increasing its domestic total to $320.5 million in just three weeks. The Universal musical adaption has made $455.6 million worldwide. Red One came in fourth with $7 million, and Gladiator II arrived in third with $12.5 million.
According to Paul Dergarabedian, Comscore’s senior media analyst, these holdovers will generate the momentum necessary to anticipate a box office year of at least $8.5 billion.
The movie industry’s yearly average before the pandemic was $11 billion. The last time the industry came close to that figure was last year, when it cracked $9 billion. According to Dergarabedian, this year got off to a poor start and it was uncertain if the company would reach $8 billion for the year until a few months ago. However, the gap from the previous year has decreased by more than 5% in the two weeks following Thanksgiving.
The newcomers found it difficult to leave a lasting impression. Even the 10th anniversary rerelease of Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar, which only debuted at 165 cinemas, outperformed The Order ($878,000) and Y2K ($2.1 million). According to Paramount, the science fiction epic, which starred Anne Hathaway and Matthew McConaughey, made an estimated $4.4 million. Additionally, IMAX said that all of the 70mm IMAX showings of Interstellar were completely sold out over the weekend.
In a statement, Nolan expressed his happiness that so many people enjoyed the original IMAX version of Interstellar this weekend.
With $4.9 million, the Indian action film Pushpa: The Rule Part 2 was the most successful of the numerous new releases. Solo Leveling ReAwakening, an anime released by Crunchyroll and Sony, brought in $2.4 million. Additionally, Fathom released the pop duo for KING + COUNTRY’s A Drummer Boy Christmas concert, which brought in $2.1 million at theaters.
According to Dergarabedian, the marketplace is incredibly diverse. There is a re-release of a movie that was released ten years ago, as well as foreign and event cinema. It’s undoubtedly one of the most varied and captivating lineups I’ve ever witnessed.
Next weekend theaters are in for another influx of bigger movies, with both Sony s comic book film Kraven the Hunter and the animated The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim opening in wide release. Awards contenders Nickel Boys and September 5 will also open in a limited number of theaters.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. Moana 2, $52 million.
2. Wicked, $34.9 million.
3. Gladiator II, $12.5 million
4. Red One, $7 million.
5. Pushpa: The Rule Part 2, $4.9 million.
6. Interstellar re-release, $4.4 million.
7. Solo Leveling ReAwakening, $2.4 million.
8. Y2K, $2.1 million.
9. for KING + COUNTRY S: A Drummer Boy Christmas, $2.1 million.
10. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, $1.5 million.
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