Christmas came early this year at the box office.
Moana 2 The Thanksgiving Day weekend brought a massive influx of moviegoers and a record $221 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday. That, combined with Wicked And gladiator iiMade for an unprecedented weekend in theaters and the confluence of blockbusters one often gets in late December.
Expectations were too high for the Walt Disney Company Moana 2But the film – which was originally planned as a series for Disney+ before being redirected to the big screen – blew predictions out of the water. Its five-day opening set a new record for Thanksgiving moviegoing. (The previous best was $125 million frozen 2 In its second week of release in 2019.) moana 2 added $165.3 million internationally; With $386 million worldwide, it is the second-best global launch of the year.
Also, the feeling of Wicked Shows no signs of slowing down. The Universal Pictures musical earned $117.5 million over the five-day weekend, bringing its two-week global total to $359.2 million. Inflation is not accounted for. Wicked It’s now the highest-grossing Broadway adaptation Fat. (That 1978 film grossed $190 million, but accounting for inflation that would be more than $900 million.)
gladiator iiMeanwhile, it is also performing well, with a 44% drop from its opening weekend. The sequel to Ridley Scott’s Oscar-winning Best Picture original grossed $44 million in its second weekend. While its hefty price tag of $250 million will make profitability challenging, gladiator ii has quickly raised $320 million worldwide.
According to comScore, those three films brought in a record $420 million in total Thanksgiving weekend ticket sales at the box office — more than $100 million more than ever before. For an industry that has struggled in recent years with the pandemic, work stoppages and streaming disruptions, it was a triumphant weekend that showed the still-powerful power of Hollywood’s blockbuster machine. First Wicked,moana 2 And gladiator ii reached theaters, ticket sales were lagging about 25% behind pre-pandemic levels.
Michael O’Leary, president and chief executive of the National Association of Theater Owners, said the weekend showed what is possible when “all the pieces of the puzzle come together” in big-budget films with marketing muscle.
“We’re very optimistic that this weekend is the beginning of what we see as a fully charged future,” he said. “The remaining quarters of this year look very promising and then into 2025 and 2026. We are expecting next year to be the first normal year in a long time for this industry.”
This image released by Paramount Pictures shows Paul Mescal, left, and Peter Mensah in a scene from ‘Gladiator II’. Photo Credit: Aidan Monaghan
Like the last time such anticipated films hit the release calendar – 2023’s much-discussed “Barbenheimer” – the film industry may again be seeing evidence of a rising tide in the film industry to ditch all the blockbuster movies. In recent years, studios have generally tried to keep most of their major releases separate. Earlier this autumn, Venom: The Last Dance, For example, despite not being particularly successful, it was the number 1 film for three consecutive weeks.
“There’s been a long-standing belief in Hollywood that you don’t make big blockbuster movies against each other,” O’Leary said. “But the truth of the matter is that competition is good. It is good for films. It’s good for the studio. This is good for theater owners. But it’s especially good for the movie-going public.
moana 2 The nexus was a change in strategy for Disney. When it first began development, it was produced as a series for streaming. But when Bob Iger returned as chief executive, he reconsidered the balance between theatrical and streaming. Original moana, After all, 2023 was the most streamed film on Disney+ in 2016, raking in an extra $680 million at the box office. Iger had announced the release in February this year itself moana 2, Auli’i Cravalho and Dwayne Johnson return as the voices of Moana and Maui.
“It shows you that big and small screens are not opposed to each other. They can be complementary and additive,” says Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at comScore. “Whoever has decided to go to the big screen globally moana 2, That was one of the greatest decisions ever.”
And it helped revive the Walt Disney Company, whose previous two animated November releases were – strange world And Desire – There was a stir in the theatres. Moana 2 2024 could become the third film to earn $1 billion for a studio inside out 2 And Deadpool and Wolverine. Reviews for However Moana 2 Holding only a 65% “Fresh” on Rotten Tomatoes, audiences gave it an “A-” CinemaScore.
Moana 2 It is also part of a major rebound in family filmmaking. David A., a film consultant who publishes a newsletter for franchise entertainment. According to Gross, family moviegoing is set to account for about $6.8 billion in ticket sales in 2024, roughly the same total as 2022 and 2023.
This image released by Universal Pictures shows Ariana Grande in a scene from the film ‘Wicked’ Photo Credit: Universal Pictures
After such a big debut, moana 2 And Wicked The series of films is likely to continue till December. The only question will be whether this year’s Christmas movies — historically a huge holiday period for theaters — can even come close to the Thanksgiving lineup. Movies targeting that holiday season also include Disney movies Mufasa: The Lion King, Paramount’s sonic the hedgehog 3 and searchlight a complete unknown, With Timothée Chalamet as young Bob Dylan.
Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
Estimated ticket sales from Friday to Sunday at US and Canadian theaters, according to comScore:
1. Moana 2, $135 million.
2. Wicked, $80 million.
3. Gladiator II, $30.7 million.
4. The red one, $12.9 million.
5. Best Christmas Pageant Ever, $3.3 million.
6. Bonhoeffer: Pastor. detective. killer, $2.4 million.
7. Venom: The Last Dance, $2.2 million.
8. Heretic, $956,797.
9. Wild Robot, $670,000.
10. A real pain, $665,000
published – December 02, 2024 12:34 PM IST
