Thanksgiving Box Office Soars To Record $420 Million, Led by 'Moana 2'

California: The Thanksgiving weekend set a new benchmark for the box office, raking in an unprecedented 420 million dollars over five days, driven by the standout performances of Disney’s Moana 2, Universal’s 'Wicked', and Paramount’s 'Gladiator 2'. This historic haul has revitalized theaters after a sluggish post-summer period.

Disney’s Moana 2 dominated the weekend with an extraordinary 221 million dollars, more than doubling initial forecasts of 100 million dollars. This makes it the most lucrative Thanksgiving opening ever, surpassing the previous record set by 'Frozen 2' in 2019, which earned 125 million dollars during the same period.

Wicked Continue its Box Office Reign With 117.5 Million Dollars

Meanwhile, 'Wicked' continued its box office reign with 117.5 million dollars in ticket sales during the holiday. Its domestic total now stands at 262.42 million dollars, cementing it as the highest-grossing Broadway adaptation in U.S. box office history. Globally, the film has amassed 359.2 million dollars in just 10 days.

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'Gladiator 2' also contributed significantly, adding 44 million dollars over Thanksgiving to reach 111.2 million dollars domestically and 320 million dollars globally since its international debut earlier this month.

A Thanksgiving theater crowd (Google image)

Senior Analyst Stated Perfect Storm Of Success Across Musical, Family, Comscore & Epic Drama Genres

Industry analysts hailed the weekend as a monumental moment for theaters. Paul Dergarabedian, a senior analyst at Comscore, described the event as a ‘perfect storm’ of success across musical, family, and epic drama genres, while Fandango’s Shawn Robbins emphasized the enduring cultural importance of moviegoing.

The Thanksgiving box office hadn’t surpassed 200 million dollars since 2019, and the previous all-time high was 315 million dollars in 2018, led by titles like Ralph Breaks the Internet and 'Creed 2'.