Box Office Report for the Week of December 1

As many of you (but not this writer, who lives in the Great White North, to which the holiday is usually a muted day off in October) gathered with your friends and/or loved ones this Thanksgiving weekend, the box office has also experienced the greatest-ever gross for the holiday. Yes, you read this correctly. With a collective gross of over $422 million throughout its five days, the combined power of Moana 2, Wicked, and Gladiator II was a rousing commercial success that cinemas desperately needed after a rather unstable year in the aftermath of COVID and the dual strikes. It even led to the AMC website setting up a virtual queue for moviegoers wanted to grab tickets over the weekend, due to overwhelming demand!

Some cinema chains have unfortunately been unable to overcome these massive waves. For example, Cinémas Guzzo, in Québec, will pretty much shut down unless an 11th-hour miracle occurs. I have conflicted feelings over its potential closure. On the one hand, my parents brought me to my first-ever movie there, which profoundly impacted me, and its democratization of IMAX venues outside Downtown Montreal was a significant advancement in getting the technology to regions that might not have had a chance to experience it. On the other, the owner isn’t beloved by many, and the decaying state in which his cinemas were left is depressing, to say the least (you should see the gargantuan arcades left to die with their innumerable ‘out of order’ games).

That said, it’s always great to see audiences flocking to the cinema in droves, no matter what the movie is. I didn’t much care for the top three of the weekend, but if they resonate with audiences and keep the art of moviegoing alive (although there’s now a debate on using phones during Wicked showings), that’s all that matters. In that regard, we should absolutely be thankful that Moana 2 was released at such a critical time and that cinemas were given the biggest Thanksgiving opening for a movie in history.

Making over $135.5 million in its three-day period, with an overall $221 million cume for the five-day holiday, the movie is now the second-biggest worldwide debut of 2024 and the third-biggest opening worldwide for an animated movie ever. An estimated 30 million people went to a cinema this weekend to watch the top three films, which is an incredible sight to see after venues lived in dormancy for a long time and the boost of energy movies desperately needed before heading up to show the year’s final blockbusters and Awards contenders!

As far as the Wickedator double feature is concerned, the Jon M. Chu film adaptation of Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman‘s musical dropped only 29% from its past weekend and grossed $80 million in its three-day period, with an overall cume of $117.5 million for the five day holiday. Basically, it made more money than its opening weekend if you count Wednesday and Thursday into consideration, which is an incredible win for a movie that may end up sweeping awards voters, and the season as a whole.

For Gladiator II, the movie still decently made a $30 million tally in its three-day weekend, with an overall $44 million five-day haul, bringing its global gross to over $320 million. While it may not have attracted as many audiences as, say Moana 2, and Wicked (just because these are directly aimed at families, while Gladiator is hard R-rated fare), the movie is still bringing in crowds who may be looking for alternative programming this long weekend, featuring sharks and gargantuan rhinos in the Coliseum instead of flying monkeys.

Whatever you chose to see this weekend, here’s hoping you had a great time at the one place where we are all united under the same roof to experience something new collectively: the movies.

Here is the full list of the top ten films of the weekend:

1. Moana 2 (Disney): $135.5M – 4,200 theatres
2. Wicked (Universal): $80M (-29%) – 3,888 theatres
3. Gladiator II (Paramount): $30.7M (-44%) – 3,580 theatres
4. Red One (Amazon MGM Studios): $12.8M (-2%) – 3,444 theatres
5. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (Lionsgate): $3.2M (-4%) – 1,779 theatres
6. Bonhoeffer: Pastor. Spy. Assassin (Angel Studios): $2.4M (-52%) – 1,800 theatres
7. Venom: The Last Dance (Sony): $2.2M (-43%) – 1,716 theatres
8. Heretic (A24): $956.797 (-53%) – 660 theatres
9. The Wild Robot (Universal): $670.000 (-68%) – 883 theatres
10. A Real Pain (Disney): $665.000 (-39%) – 505 theatres

Source: Comscore