Moana 2 Erupts Over Thanksgiving Weekend - Weeks 3 & 4

When typing out the movies coming out this season a month ago I had no idea the Biggest Thanksgiving Weekend of All-Time was on the menu. I was expecting chicken poppers and fries and that would’ve been fine.

Instead Moana 2 defied expectations (and lackluster songs) to have one of the biggest openings ever for an animated film. Debuting to a mind-blowing $225 million five-day haul, The Rock finally stuck his “Executive Producer” credit on something that actually worked. Maybe Black Adam should’ve been a musical!

Meanwhile, Wicked continued to be a wicked-smart investment for Universal Pictures. The musical that does have great songs performed well. The yellow brick road led the film to another $118 million over that five-day period. 

Gladiator II may have ended-up at the kids table over Thanksgiving dinner, yet the swords and sandals tale still handled itself with $44 million. Considering the biggest star in the film wasn’t even one of the actual gladiators, Warner Bros. should be content that the franchise has been revived to the point that they can now make a MAX show to prolong the brand. That seems to be the only thing movies mean to them these days.   

One week later, movie-goers only wanted seconds of their favorite dishes. Moana 2 sailed in $52 million. Wicked flew to $36 million, and Gladiator II fought for $12 million. These are clearly the three films that are drawing a line in the sand and daring other films to pass them. We’ll see if they can keep cooking or if a new ghost kitchen pops up to steal all their thunder.

The Top Five If Today Was MLK Day:

#1. Wicked: Part One - $322.1 million

#2. Moana 2 - $299.3 million

#3. Gladiator II - $132.8 million 

#4. Red One - $85.8 million 

#5. n/a