‘Moana 2′ sails to a record $221 million opening as Hollywood celebrates a moviegoing feast

nypost.com:

“Moana 2” brought in a tidal wave of moviegoers over the Thanksgiving Day weekend, setting records with $221 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.That, combined with “Wicked” and “Gladiator II,” made for an unprecedented weekend in cinemas and a confluence of blockbusters more like what’s often found in late December.Expectations were high for Walt Disney Co.’s “Moana 2,” but the film — originally planned as a series for Disney+ before it was redirected to the big screen — blew predictions out of the water.Its five-day opening set a new record for Thanksgiving moviegoing. (The previous best was $125 million for “Frozen 2” in its second week of release in 2019.)“Moana 2” added $165.3 million internationally; with $386 million worldwide, it’s the second-best global launch of the year.At the same time, the sensation of “Wicked” showed no signs of slowing down.

The Universal Pictures musical brought in $117.5 million over the five-day weekend, pushing its two-week global total to $359.2 million.Not accounting for inflation, “Wicked” is now the highest grossing Broadway adaptation over “Grease.” (That 1978 film grossed $190 million, but factoring in inflation would put it past $900 million.)“Gladiator II,” meanwhile, also held well, dipping 44% from its opening weekend.

Ridley Scott’s sequel to his Oscar-winning best picture original collected $44 million in its second weekend.While its steep price tag of $250 million will make profitability challenging, “Gladiator II” has swiftly gathered $320 million worldwide.Those three films drove the overall box office to a record $420 million in overall Thanksgiving weekend ticket sales, according to Comscore — more than $100 million more than ever before.For.