8k8 ‘Moana 2,’ ‘Wicked’ lead record holiday weekend at box office
This image released by Disney shows the character Moana, voiced by Auli’i Cravalho, center, in a scene from “Moana 2.” (Disney via AP)
LOS ANGELES – Disney’s “Moana 2” has scored the biggest five-day opening ever for a Thanksgiving weekend, raking in $221 million, according to industry estimates released Sunday.
The animated sequel to the 2016 hit about the daughter of a Polynesian village chief and her oceanic adventures topped the previous record for a five-day Thanksgiving weekend set by 2019’s “Frozen II” with $125 million.
Despite the eye-popping haul for “Moana 2,” Universal Pictures’ “Wicked” also continued to do huge business in its second week in North American theaters, grossing $117.5 million Wednesday though Sunday and $80 million over the three-day weekend, Comscore reported.
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FILE – Cynthia Erivo, left, and Ariana Grande arrive at the premiere of ‘Wicked’ at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, Nov. 9, 2024. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP File)
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The twin blockbusters also produced the biggest overall Thanksgiving weekend grosses in North American history, with an estimated $420 million for all films. That easily beats the old record of $315 million set in 2018.
Also in its second week, “Gladiator II” claimed third place with $44 million over five days and $30.7 million over the traditional three-day weekend.
ADVERTISEMENT“Red One,” the Christmas-themed action comedy starring The Rock, slipped to fourth place with $12.8 million Friday through Sunday in its third week.
“The Best Christmas Pageant Ever’ continued the holiday theme, settling into fifth place with $3.2 million for the three-day weekend in its fourth weekend.
Rounding out the top 10 domestic releases were “Bonhoeffer: Pastor.
ADVERTISEMENTSpy. Assassin” ($2.4 million), “Venom: The Last Dance” ($2.2 million), “Heretic” ($956,797), “The Wild Robot” ($670,000) and “A Real Pain” ($665,000).
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This weekend’s overall three-day box office haul was estimated at $272 million. The year-to-date total is $7.781 billion — down 6.4 percent from the figure at this time last year, according to Comscore. (CNS)
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