Moana 2’ Earns Gigantic $28 Million on Thanksgiving Day, Shattering Holiday Records Box Office

Walt Disney Animation's Moana 2 continues its record-breaking run at the box office, grossing a whopping $28 million on Thanksgiving. In doing so, it boosted sales in a film industry that hasn't had much to celebrate in recent years. 

The animated sequel is expected to gross at least $175 million over the five-day Christmas week, beating the previous highs of 2019's Frozen II ($125 million) and 2013's Catching Fire ($109 million). Rival studios believe the film will gross more than $200 million in its first five days of domestic theatrical release and could go even higher. Moana 2 has now grossed $85.5 million in the U.S. The film has already set a new record for the highest-grossing Thanksgiving release, beating the $15 million grossed by Frozen 2 five years ago. And Moana 2 isn't the only film to see a box office recovery. Universal's Wicked and Paramount's Gladiator II, which opened last weekend, continue to draw audiences, grossing $16.9 million and $6.7 million, respectively, on Thanksgiving. Wicked, a film adaptation of the popular Broadway musical, is expected to gross $105.6 million over the five-day holiday, while Gladiator II, the long-awaited sequel to the Clinton Administration action blockbuster, is expected to gross $45 million over the five-day holiday. The period should bring in dollars. Both films were expensive to make, so they should continue to attract large audiences. Wicked is the first part of a two-part saga, and both cost $300 million to make, while Gladiator II, which saw its production suspended for a long time due to the 2023 actors' strike, has a budget of $250 million. million. Add in marketing costs, which would typically exceed $100 million for a film of this magnitude, and the two studios are putting a lot of money at risk. By the end of the holiday season, Gladiator II is expected to gross $112.2 million domestically, while Wicked is expected to gross $250.6 million in North America. 

Moana 2 was not originally intended to be released in theaters. The family film was conceived as a Disney+ series before being reimagined as a feature film. The original Moana film, released in 2016, was a solid box office success, grossing $687.2 million worldwide. But Disney's confidence that audiences would come for the sequel had more to do with how the film was received on streaming, becoming one of the company's most-watched movies. 

The pairing of these two big-budget blockbusters couldn't come at a better time for movie theaters. The movie theater industry has been hampered by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has shuttered theaters for months and made some consumers even more hesitant to return to their local multiplexes even as restrictions ease. Then, last year's strike, which saw both actors and screenwriters go on strike in Hollywood, halted production and may reduce the number of movies studios release in theaters. Movie theater owners are hoping that big Thanksgiving revenues will spark a sustained recovery. But the winter holidays probably won't be as exciting. Paramount will release Sonic the Hedgehog 3 in theaters in December, and Disney will release Mufasa: The Lion King, but there won't be another Avatar or any major Marvel movies to get theaters in the holiday spirit.