By Don Chmielewski and Lisa Richwine
LOS ANGELES – Walt Disney’s animated musical “Moana 2” debuted with an estimated $368 million in global ticket sales through Sunday, tying with “Wicked” and “Gladiator II” for the biggest Thanksgiving weekend in U.S. and Canadian box office history. Did.
The sequel to the 2016 Walt Disney animated film, “Moana 2”, reunites Auli’i Cravalho as the title character searching for a way to reunite with the deity Maui, voiced by Dwayne Johnson, on a quest to break a curse and is on a journey to reunite the people of the sea.
Initially conceived as a series for the Disney streaming service, “Moana 2” grossed a record $221 million from domestic ticket sales in the Wednesday through Sunday Thanksgiving period. It surpassed “Frozen 2’s” holiday haul of $125 million in 2019.
For all films in theaters this weekend, the domestic total came to $420 million, breaking 2018’s Thanksgiving record of $315.6 million, led by “Ralph Breaks the Internet” and “Creed II.”
The results gave Hollywood studios and theaters a reason to celebrate after prolonged closures during the COVID-19 pandemic and concerns that audiences might abandon theaters in favor of staying home to watch streaming TV.
“If you make the right movie, a movie full of heart and humor that audiences love, they’ll come to the theater,” said Disney Entertainment co-chairman Alan Bergman during a recent screening of “Moana 2″ in Los Angeles. Will come.”
He also showed that Hollywood has recovered from the disruptions caused by the writers’ and actors’ strike in 2023. Chains like AMC Entertainment and Cineworld had little to no schedule left for moviegoers in the first half of this year.
“Wicked,” an adaptation of a beloved Broadway musical that is a prequel to “The Wizard of Oz,” grossed $117.5 million on Thanksgiving. Distributor Universal Pictures said its global total reached $359.2 million after two weekends in theaters.
The action epic “Gladiator II,” the sequel to the Best Picture winner two decades ago, grossed $44 million domestically over the holidays, bringing its global total to $320 million.
Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at comScore, said this weekend’s turnout is likely to lead to stronger sales in the coming weeks. He cited several potential hit films hitting theaters in December that will “help the industry take the year to a higher level.”
Those include “Kraven the Hunter,” the animated “Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim,” “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” and “Mufasa: The Lion King,” he said.
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