Hollywood Bets on Thanksgiving Rebound: Will ‘Wicked,’ ‘Gladiator II’ and ‘Moana 2’ Revive the Sluggish Fall Box Office?

variety.com:

Rebecca Rubin Senior Film and Media Reporter To paraphrase Wesley Snipes as Blade in this summer’s blockbuster “Deadpool & Wolverine”: There’s only one “Barbenheimer.” There’s only ever gonna be one “Barbenheimer.” Hollywood might never replicate the je ne sais quoi that prompted the explosion of “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” double features, turning the box office battle between two very different films into a once-in-a-generation cinematic event.

But multiplex owners are hoping that “Wicked” and “Gladiator II” achieve something close as the pink-and-green musical and the Colosseum-set action epic land in theaters on Nov.

22. “It won’t happen in the same way, but the conversation around ‘Wicked’ and ‘Gladiator’ is reminiscent of ‘Barbenheimer,’” says Shawn Robbins, Fandango’s director of movie analytics. “They’re fueling each other.” Whether or not “Glicked” is the second coming of “Barbenheimer,” there’s mounting pressure on Thanksgiving movies — Disney’s “Moana 2” swims to the big screen on Nov.

27 — to deliver at the box office. October has been heavy on tricks and light on treats, with “Joker: Folie à Deux” tanking and “Venom: The Last Dance” falling short of other entries in the symbiote saga.