‘A National Phenomenon’: Thanksgiving Box Office Week Sets Unprecedented Record

Published: December 3, 2024

‘A National Phenomenon’: Thanksgiving Box Office Week Sets Unprecedented Record

Movieguide® Contributor

WICKED, MOANA 2 and GLADIATOR II brought in an estimated $420m at the box office over five days last Thanksgiving week — setting a record in Thanksgiving movie-going history.

“What’s clear in the current post Covid marketplace, is that while there is no floor to when a movie bombs, there is also no ceiling to when movies connect, and that’s what we had here in MOANA 2, WICKED and GLADIATOR II over the Wednesday to Sunday holiday,” Deadline reported Dec. 1.

“Distribution sources always felt we were in for an enormous moviegoing rebound in the post Covid-post strikes era fueled by the massive want-to-see of Disney’s MOANA 2, and the second weekends of Universal’s WICKED and Paramount’s GLADIATOR 2. For those keeping track, the 10-day box office since Friday, Nov. 22 when WICKED and GLADIATOR 2 opened is bound to gross a huge $681.5M,” Deadline added.

RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET (2018) was the previous record holder with $315.6 in the box office.

“MOANA 2 is setting a five-day opening and Thanksgiving record of $221M,” Deadline said, “WICKED became the highest grossing movie based on a Broadway musical ($263M) and will have the third best five-day take ($117.5M) over Thanksgiving while Paramount’s adult moviegoer destination GLADIATOR II is seeing $44M.”

MOANA 2 brought in $385m in total worldwide sales.

WICKED has a 96% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes, MOANA 2, 87%, and GLADIATOR II, 83%.

“It’s funny, even after experiencing a high point like this at the box office, especially pre-pandemic, you’d think the major studios would continue to program big movies over a heavy moviegoing period like this year after year, but they sometimes come up short on product or get scared of another big fish on the marquee,” Deadline said.

The success of all films proves that the marquee can be shared with a Disney animated picture.

Deadline reported, “Post Covid, the top movies over Thanksgiving (five-day) were quite less next to what’s going on this year; clearly, 2021 audiences were still skittish: There was Disney’s ENCANTO debut in 2021 ($40.5M), Disney/Marvel Studios’ holdover of BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER ($63.8M) and last year’s holdover of Lionsgate’s THE HUNGER GAMES: THE BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS AND SNAKES ($42.2M).”

“Tis the season for moviegoing…,” said No. 2 circuit Regal Cineworld Boss Eduardo Acuna. “The Thanksgiving weekend has completely exceeded our wildest expectations with records for Regal Cineworld in attendance, box office, and concessions. Congratulations to all our studio partners on this record-breaking weekend! The theatrical experience is one that cannot be replicated, and we are excited to keep this momentum going through the end of the year with blockbuster releases including KRAVEN, SONIC 3, and MUFASA to name just a few.”

WICKED: PART 2 will be released next year on the Friday before Thanksgiving. THE RUNNING MAN with Glen Powell and Josh Brolin and Angel Studio’s animated movie, DAVID, will also be released. The following Wednesday, Disney will launch ZOOTOPIA 2.

Angel Studios reported, “DAVID is a larger-than-life animated feature film about one of the most fascinating characters to ever live. The movie tells the biblical story of David—a warrior, poet, shepherd, and eventual king who lived his life for God. While David is best known as the underdog who courageously slayed Goliath, the DAVID movie digs deeper into this colorful character who led and inspired an entire nation of believers.”

“The DAVID movie is the largest audience funded entertainment project ever—and filmmakers believe this film will become one of the most-viewed animated films of all time,” Angel Studios said.