Box Office: ‘Moana 2’ Easily Toppling Thanksgiving Week Records After Scoring Massive $57.5 Million Opening Day

variety.com:

Brent Lang Executive Editor The movie business hasn’t had much to be thankful for in recent years, but that’s changing this holiday week as a trio of splashy new releases are bringing audiences back to cinemas in a big way.

The most irresistible attraction is undoubtedly Disney Animation’s “Moana 2,” which racked up a massive $57.5 million on Wednesday, and is expected to dominate the Thanksgiving holiday box office with a performance for the history books. “Moana 2,” which was originally developed as a television show for Disney+ before it was retrofitted into a theatrical feature, is projected to collect at least $175 million over its first five days in theaters (rival studios have it hitting $200 million).

If it achieves those lofty estimates, “Moana 2” will easily break records with the biggest Thanksgiving haul of all-time, overtaking the previous highs set by “Frozen II” ($125 million over the five days) and 2013’s “Hunger Games: Catching Fire” ($109 million over the five days). “Moana 2” opening day numbers already rank as the third biggest for an animated title, just behind “Incredibles 2” ($71.2 million) and “Inside Out 2” ($63.6 million).

Globally, the film has earned $66.3 million. But “Moana 2” isn’t the only thing sparking a revival at movie theaters. “Wicked,” Universal’s big-budget adaptation of the Broadway musical sensation, earned $20.4 million on Wednesday and is expected to rack up more than $63 million over the traditional weekend and $97 million over the five days.