Moana 2 joins Wicked and Gladiator in dominating the box office with this million-dollar figure

The sequel to the animated film Moana kicked off with a bang this weekend after its release in theaters. The expectations for Moana 2 were high, but the film by Walt Disney Co., which was originally planned as a series for Disney+ before being redirected to the big screen, exceeded all predictions.

Alongside other giants like Wicked and Gladiator II, Moana joined what was an unprecedented weekend at local cinemas and a convergence of box office hits more typical of late December rather than the beginning of this month.

What was the million-dollar figure raised by Moana 2 on its premiere?

The Disney movie attracted a wave of viewers over the Thanksgiving weekend, setting records with 221 million dollars in North American theaters, according to studio estimates this past Sunday.

Its five-day debut set a record for the cinema during Thanksgiving holiday as the previous record was 125 million dollars for Frozen 2 in its second week of release in 2019. Moana 2 has accumulated 386 million dollars worldwide, the second-best international release of the year.

At the same time, Wicked also remained strong. The Universal Pictures musical grossed $117.5 million during the five-day weekend, bringing its global total to $359.2 million after two weeks. Not accounting for inflation, Wicked is now the highest-grossing Broadway adaptation, surpassing 1978's Grease.

On the other hand, Gladiator II experienced a 44% drop from its opening weekend. Ridley Scott's sequel to the Oscar-winning Best Picture earned 44 million dollars in its second weekend. Although its high cost of 250 million will make profitability a challenge, Gladiator II has quickly grossed 320 million dollars worldwide.

Combined, these movies brought the total box office for the Thanksgiving weekend to a record of $420 million in ticket sales, according to Comscore, more than $100 million more than ever before.

This is how the ranking of estimated ticket sales from Friday to Sunday in cinemas in the United States and Canada ended, according to Comscore:

1. "Moana 2", 135 million dollars.
2. “Wicked”, 80 million dollars.
3. "Gladiator II" 30.7 million dollars.
4. "Red One", 12.9 million dollars.
5. "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever", 3.3 million dollars.
6. "Bonhoeffer: Pastor. Spy. Assassin", 2.4 million dollars.
7. "Venom: The Last Dance", 2.2 million dollars.
8. "Heretic", $956.797.
9. "The Wild Robot", $670,000.
10. “A Real Pain”, $665,000.