In the post-Thanksgiving roundup, the IP sequels and musical Broadway adaptation still reach to rule the screens.
The Walt Disney Animations sequel took quite a hit in its subsequent weekend (-63%) but still earned big with $52 million, pushing it right past $300 million worldwide. Thanks to some overseas adoration, the sequel has already climbed past $600 million worldwide (and is days away from passing its predecessor’s $643 million). That’s a phenomenal kickoff and another casual reminder that putting your toons back into the multiplex is still (and will remain) the best place to store animated films to blow families away while netting a positive return on IP. You don’t casually swift to become the highest-earning animated film of all time (Inside Out 2) because you preordained your audiences to sit at home for a decade plus. Even a pessimistic scenario would gear Moana 2 for a $915 million worldwide finish, a token of gratitude as Disney continues to restore its box office prestige five years later.
Wicked earned $34.85 million in its third weekend, which is a better drop than other Hunger Games and Harry Potter prequels and sequels. With it already at $320 million worldwide, it is very plausible for it to soar past $400 million domestically thanks to a surge from Christmas/New Year’s legs. As a consolation prize, legs like Frozen II would get it to $450 million worldwide. Once it reaches $330 million, Wicked will become the highest-earning non-sequel domestic earner since Barbie last year. The unconventional skews have been cumbersome to guesstimate where it lands worldwide definitively, but $600 million worldwide could be a checkbox on its list. And if it can achieve that feat, Mamma Mia! may have to shriek to save its historic benchmark.
In its third weekend, Gladiator II took the bronze position with $12.45 million. With it past $132 million domestically and $368 million worldwide, this is Denzel Washington’s highest-earning earner, and judging by legs (if it doesn’t get engulfed by Kraven the Hunter), it could pass $480 million worldwide. This may be enough for Ridley Scott to save face while justifying the $250 million budget.
In other news, Red One has passed $164 million worldwide. Dwayne Johnson can salvage the losses thanks to a ridiculous overcompensating performance by the Disney sequel. However, it still showcases that his star power cannot muster much in the face of end-of-the-world shenanigans any further in today’s time if A) the role is monotonous and B) the budget defeats the purpose of a brand-new original. Even though the comparison isn’t remotely the same, Will Smith rebounded after the infamous Oscars incident by playing the beats in another Bad Boys movie. Still, since it was budgeted more appropriately ($100 million), it could withstand the potential of taking some more losses from its total gross had the Internet “dictated” they were not ready to take him back in front of the camera. Christmas can continue to assist Red One, but it may “just” reach $190 million globally.
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever earned $35 million domestically (it will soon be Lionsgate’s highest domestic earner of 2024), and by Tuesday, Heretic will pass $40 million worldwide. The laundry list of new small-scale debuts didn’t ring much in terms of bells (one could argue Y2K was the weekend’s latest big hit, but it earned a miserable $2.11 million and a C- from CinemaScore), as someone was hoping one would pop like Godzilla: Minus One, but the re-release of Interstellar did the trick as it nabbed $4.425 million. Nolan once again reasserts himself as a household name wherever he chooses to release his next feat or pop out an old one, and the eyes are on his tail for his untitled July 2026 feat.
And Venom: The Last Dance is wrapping up its run between $475-480 million worldwide.
Next weekend sees the release of Kraven the Hunter, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, September 5, Dirty Angels, Nickel Boys, and The Last Showgirl.
