‘Moana 2’ cruises to another record weekend and US$600 million globally

The Walt Disney Co.'s animated film “Moana 2” remained at the top of the box office in its second weekend in theaters as it brought in another record haul.

The film added US$52 million, according to studio estimates Sunday. That brings its domestic total to US$300 million, surpassing the original, and its global tally to a staggering US$600 million.

The amount set a record gross for a movie on the weekend following Thanksgiving weekend, unseating “Frozen II,” which earned US$35.2 million in the same time frame in 2019. The numbers are not adjusted for inflation. Originally conceived as a Disney+ series, “Moana 2” has already broken into the top five highest grossing releases of the year. Its performance means Disney has three films in this year's top five, including “Inside Out 2” and “Deadpool & Wolverine.” The studio also has another big movie on the way before the year ends: Barry Jenkins' “Mufasa," out Dec. 20.

The weekend also showcased several new releases, including A24’s horror comedy “Y2K” and the Jude Law crime thriller “The Order.” But nothing was ever going to present significant competition to the enticing Thanksgiving leftovers, “Moana 2,” “Wicked” and “Gladiator II.”

Second place at the box office was occupied by “Wicked,” which added US$34.9 million, bringing its domestic total to US$320.5 million in three weeks. Globally, the musical adaptation released by Universal is at US$455.6 million. “Gladiator II” followed in third place with US$12.5 million, while “Red One” came in fourth with US$7 million.

“These holdovers are going to create the momentum that’s going to put an US$8.5 billion-plus box office year on the horizon,” said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. Pre-pandemic, US$11 billion had become the annual norm for the movie business. Since then, the closest the industry has gotten to that number was last year, which cracked US$9 billion. This year started off slow and up to a few months ago, Dergarabedian said, even hitting $8 billion for the year was in doubt. But in the two weeks since Thanksgiving, the deficit from last year has narrowed by over 5 per cent.

The newcomers struggled to make a significant impact. Even the 10th anniversary rerelease of Christopher Nolan’s “Interstellar,” which played in only 165 theatres, did better than “Y2K” (US$2.1 million) and “The Order” (US$878,000) combined. Paramount reported that the science fiction epic starring Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway brought in an estimated US$4.4 million. IMAX also noted that all the 70mm IMAX presentations of “Interstellar” were sold out through the weekend.

“I was thrilled so many moviegoers took advantage of the original IMAX experience of ‘Interstellar’ this weekend," Nolan said in a statement.

The biggest of the many newcomers was the Indian action pic “Pushpa: The Rule – Part 2,” which earned US$4.9 million. Sony and Crunchyroll's anime release, “Solo Leveling – ReAwakening,” made US$2.4 million. Fathom also released pop duo for KING + COUNTRY’s “A Drummer Boy Christmas” concert in theatres where it made US$2.1 million.

“It’s a really diverse marketplace,” Dergarabedian said. “There's event cinema, international cinema, a re-release of a ten-year-old film. It's easily one of the most eclectic and interesting lineups I’ve ever seen.”

Next weekend theatres are in for another influx of bigger movies, with both Sony's comic book film “Kraven the Hunter” and the animated “The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim” opening in wide release. Awards contenders “Nickel Boys” and “September 5” will also open in a limited number of theatres.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theatres, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.

1. “Moana 2,” U$52 million.
2. “Wicked,” US$34.9 million.
3. “Gladiator II,” US$12.5 million
4. “Red One,” US$7 million.
5. “Pushpa: The Rule – Part 2,” US$4.9 million.
6. “Interstellar” re-release, US$4.4 million.
7. “Solo Leveling – ReAwakening,” US$2.4 million.
8. “Y2K,” US$2.1 million.
9. “for KING + COUNTRY’S: A Drummer Boy Christmas,” US$2.1 million.
10. “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever,” US$1.5 million.