The Thanksgiving box office feast of 2024 was nothing short of sizzling, proving that the marketplace can expand beyond expectations when the chefs of Hollywood deliver dishes that appeal to varied appetites.
To say Christmas 2024 is a wee bit underpowered may be an understatement since there is usually more product, say box office sources, and the calendar certainly could have used a behemoth like a Star Wars movie or Avatar installment.
“If Mufasa, Sonic and Kraven and all the other releases overperform by virtue of a super-charged late November marketplace, then we could be looking at the potential for a Christmas box office miracle,” says Comscore chief box office analyst Paul Dergarabedian.
Gladiator II, of course, is the big draw for males; they’re buying roughly 60 percent of its tickets.
Gladiator II, which opened Nov. 22 opposite Wicked, has earned a pleasing $327 million to date at the global box office.
The 2024 Thanksgiving box office feast was nothing short of spectacular, demonstrating that when Hollywood chefs create dishes that satisfy a wide range of palates, the marketplace can grow beyond expectations. Leading the way were the family movie Moana 2 from Walt Disney Animation, the musical Wicked from Universal, and the epic Gladiator II from Paramount. Domestic revenue for the extended five-day holiday weekend reached an unprecedented $425 million, greatly surpassing the previous record of $316 million set in 2018.
Even though Wicked and Gladiator II were released in November, domestic box office receipts for the year were down 10.6 percent from 2023. The 22–23 weekend served as a somber reminder of the sharp decline in output brought on by the labor strikes and the pandemic’s aftereffects. After Thanksgiving, yearly revenue is only 63% lower at $778 billion, giving some hope that 2024 ticket sales could reach $8.5 billion to $8.6 billion, and perhaps even higher. The $9 billion in revenue cleared last year was still a significant decrease from the $11 billion before COVID.
How much money can the box office make between now and December? The December holiday calendar, which is anchored by Disney’s Mufasa: The Lion King and Paramount’s Sonic the Hedgehog 3, both of which open in December, and the performance of the Thanksgiving standouts—animated movies can have particularly long legs—will determine the number 31. 20 and are on pace to reach significant numbers. Given that there is typically more product available, such as from box office sources, and the calendar could have benefited from a massive event like a Star Wars film or an Avatar installment, it might be an understatement to say that Christmas 2024 is a little underpowered.
The film distributors have a long-standing belief that rising tides benefit everyone, and they hope that the Thanksgiving rush will continue to encourage moviegoers to visit theaters in the upcoming weeks. to the movies over the next few weeks. Paul Dergarabedian, chief box office analyst at Comscore, says, “We could be looking at the potential for a Christmas box office miracle if Mufasa, Sonic, Kraven, and all the other releases overperform due to a supercharged late November marketplace.”. “Honestly, given that $8 billion was deemed excessive only a few months ago, anything over $82.5 billion is a huge victory. “.”.
Some had complained that, given that both Wicked and Moana 2 are female-skewing films, it was absurd to release them so soon after each other. They were shown to be incorrect, however. While nearly 40% of Moana 2’s opening weekend audience was 17 and under, including 25% under the age of 12, Wicked is primarily attracting female viewers 35 and older. Naturally, Gladiator II is the main attraction for men; about 60% of its tickets are purchased by them.
The Thanksgiving eve release of Moana 2 broke numerous records with a five-day North American premiere of $225.4 million, including $139.8 million for the three-day weekend. It is expected to end its second weekend with ticket sales of over $600 million worldwide. In addition to captivating audiences, Wicked made nearly $112 million during the five-day holiday, equal to its historic $112 million domestic premiere. It has already surpassed Grease to become the highest-grossing Broadway musical adaptation ever.
Wicked, which made $281 million domestically and over $390 million worldwide as of December. 4, should surpass $300 million domestically on Friday, December. Six. Additionally, Moana 2 will surpass the domestic lifetime run of Moana (2016) ($248.8 million) after just 10 days of release, without accounting for inflation, on Friday. In November, Gladiator II was released. 22 opposite Wicked has made a respectable $327 million at the worldwide box office so far.
According to Eric Handler, a Wall Street analyst with Roth Capital Management, Thanksgiving was truly remarkable. “When the content is compelling, people are obviously willing to return to theaters, and the final six weeks of the quarter look fantastic. Given that 2025 and 2026 have packed film slates, this situation is encouraging.
Social media suggests that many moviegoers made it a point to see at least two, if not all three, of the Thanksgiving tentpoles because they were still affected by the Barbenheimer phenomenon from the previous year. Furthermore, watching Wicked and Moana 2 again is already helping both films.
Only four times in history have consecutive weekends produced films like Moana 2 and Wicked that opened at $100 million or higher. “And up until now, this has never occurred outside of the summer,” Dergarabedian says. Everybody in Hollywood is now trying to grab the next chance to make the most of the release schedule in order to maximize the box office impact, thanks to the extraordinary success of Gladiator II and those two movies in a 10-day period. “”.
