UPDATE: 2024/12/08 11:20 EST BY LUKAS SHAYO

Moana 2 Makes A Big Splash At The Box Office, But Wicked And Gladiator II Remain Afloat

This article was originally written Saturday AM and has been updated Sunday AM with up-to-date box office projections (in bold), a full chart, and further analysis.

Moana 2 continues to dominate the box office in its second weekend, while Wicked and Gladiator II lag behind. The Disney blockbuster was first released during the Thanksgiving holiday, and the latter two were released the week before. It was dominant in its first week, earning $221 million, and even broke the record for the highest-grossing five-day weekend of all time. Moana 2 is showing the potential to break the coveted $1 billion mark, but it will be difficult if the movie cannot maintain a strong showing with tough competition on the horizon.

According to a report by Variety, this week’s box office is seeing immense success after a record-breaking Thanksgiving. Moana 2 took first place at the box office with an expected three-day total of $52 million. That is officially the highest total any movie has earned following the Thanksgiving weekend. The movie already earned more than any other Thanksgiving release last weekend, making this total even more groundbreaking. The movie has also officially crossed the $300 million milestone at the box office.

While they dominated in their opening weekend, Wicked and Gladiator combined have struggled to match Moana 2’s massive total. Still, they are expected to earn an incredibly remarkable $34.85 million and $12.4 million respectively over the weekend. That total is slightly less than predicted for the Roman blockbuster, while Wicked easily exceeded expectations, thanks to strong word of mouth. Red One and Pushpa: The Rule — Part 2 comprise the last pieces of the Top 5, earning under $10 million. Below, see the full domestic Top 5 chart for the weekend:

# Title Expected 3-Day Total Cumulative (Domestic) 1 Moana 2 $52 million $300 million 2 Wicked $34.85 million $320.5 million 3 Gladiator II $12.4 million $132.7 million 4 Red One $7 million $85.7 million 5 Pushpa: The Rule – Part 2 $5.5 million $5.5 million

Outside of the Top 5, other movies have seen challenges. A re-release of Interstellar took the sixth spot with $4.4 million, and Solo Leveling-Reawakening took seventh with its $2.4 million take. A24’s latest release, Y2K, earned just $2.1 million, despite appearing in 2,108 theaters. That total is enough to bring it to the eighth overall spot. As with previous movies this year, sequels and established franchises are proving successful, while completely original releases are comparatively struggling.

What This Second Weekend Means For Moana 2
The Disney Sequel Continues To Make A Big Splash

Moana 2’s sophomore outing will mark a 63% drop after its incredible opening weekend. That is a far sharper decline than Inside Out 2’s 34.4% drop and could mark a worrying sign for the release. It will undoubtedly be a success, but the journey to $1 billion will depend on early profit. After all, December promises serious competition in the form of Mufasa: The Lion King, Sonic the Hedgehog 3, and The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim. Disney is depending on these early weeks to provide immensely, given that Mufasa’s release is also a $1 billion contender.

For a movie that was intended to be a Disney+ show, it is an incredible success already.

Still, the movie remains a record-breaker, so that worry could be overstated. The period after Thanksgiving weekend tends to be a lull point, giving room for the box office to grow in the coming weeks. Moana 2 needs to earn $375 million to profit against its $150 million budget after theaters and marketing budgets take their cuts. The domestic total alone should be more than enough to reach that point by the time the movie’s run finishes. For a project that was intended to be a Disney+ show, it is an incredible success already.

Our Take On The Weekend Box Office
Nothing Was Going To Stop Moana 2

There was never a chance for anything to topple Disney’s latest blockbuster. Unless Wicked and Gladiator II managed to sustain Barbenheimer-like success, nothing that released this week that could challenge the sequel. Its only real lasting competition is Inside Out 2, as it works to match the movie’s total to become the highest-grossing animated movie of all time. Moana 2 continues the slow march to $1 billion, but it will have to depend on overseas totals to help achieve that mark. If it is not able to, it will likely still profit, thanks to strong domestic and overseas success.

Despite struggling to stand up to Disney’s hit animated success, the other offerings have also been remarkably successful. Pushpa: The Rule – Part 2 has exceeded the original’s $1.32 million domestic sum by $4 million, and it is hard to overstate the success that Gladiator and Wicked are seeing in theaters. Red One is also continuing its crawl through the holiday season, though it has certainly lost some major support with its 45% drop. Unlike last week, which offered a strong five-day weekend, movies have been forced to get by on a far more limited three-day schedule.

Typically, the week after Thanksgiving weekend is a slow point for the box office. That has not been especially true this year.

After a weak year, the final months of 2024 seem to be a recovery for the box office. That problem could be partly attributed to poor offerings, as Joker: Folie à Deux, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, Argylle, and other potential hits all fell short of expectations. Part of the issue relates to the 2023 strikes, as stalled productions left many movies delayed until late 2024. Inside Out 2 and Deadpool & Wolverine managed to save the summer, much like Barbie and Oppenheimer did a year ago, but these final two months could be the sustained recovery that theaters needed.

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Source: Variety

Your changes have been saved My List My Favorite MoviesMy Watchlist 6/10 Moana 2 Moana 2 is the sequel to the 2016 animated film Moana. Directed by David G. Derrick Jr., Jason Hand, and Dana Ledoux Miller, the film continues the journey of Moana as she embarks on new adventures, exploring the vast Pacific Ocean while encountering new characters and challenges along the way.Director David G. Derrick Jr. , Jason Hand , Dana Ledoux Miller Release Date November 27, 2024 Studio(s) Walt Disney Pictures , Walt Disney Animation Studios Distributor(s) Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Writers Dana Ledoux Miller , Jared Bush , Jason Hand , Ron Clements , John Musker Cast Auli’i Cravalho , Dwayne Johnson , Alan Tudyk , Rachel House , Temuera Morrison , Nicole Scherzinger , Hualālai Chung , David Fane , Rose Matafeo , Awhimai Fraser , Gerald Ramsey , Khaleesi Lambert-Tsuda Character(s) Moana , Maui , Hei Hei , Tala , Chief Tui , Sina , Moni , Kele , Loto , Matangi , Tautai Vasa , Simea Runtime 100 Minutes Expand