‘Moana 2’ cruises to another record weekend and $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 $52 million, according to studio estimates Sunday. That brings its domestic total to $300 million, surpassing the original, and its global tally to a staggering $600 million.

The amount set a record gross for a movie on the weekend following Thanksgiving weekend, unseating “Frozen II,” which earned $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 $34.9 million, bringing its domestic total to $320.5 million in three weeks. Globally, the musical adaptation released by Universal is at $455.6 million. “Gladiator II” followed in third place with $12.5 million, while “Red One” came in fourth with $7 million.

“These holdovers are going to create the momentum that’s going to put an $8.5 billion-plus box office year on the horizon,” said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore.

Pre-pandemic, $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 $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%.

The newcomers struggled to make a significant impact. Even the 10th anniversary rerelease of Christopher Nolan’s “Interstellar,” which played in only 165 theaters, did better than “Y2K” ($2.1 million) and “The Order” ($878,000) combined. Paramount reported that the science fiction epic starring Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway brought in an estimated $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 $4.9 million. Sony and Crunchyroll’s anime release, “Solo Leveling – ReAwakening,” made $2.4 million. Fathom also released pop duo for KING + COUNTRY’s “A Drummer Boy Christmas” concert in theaters where it made $2.1 million.

“It’s a really diverse marketplace,” Dergarabedian said. “There’s event cinema, international cinema, a re-release of a 10-year-old film. It’s easily one of the most eclectic and interesting lineups I’ve ever seen.”

Next weekend theaters 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 theaters.

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

1. “Moana 2,” $52 million.

2. “Wicked,” $34.9 million.

3. “Gladiator II,” $12.5 million

4. “Red One,” $7 million.

5. “Pushpa: The Rule – Part 2,” $4.9 million.

6. “Interstellar” re-release, $4.4 million.

7. “Solo Leveling – ReAwakening,” $2.4 million.

8. “Y2K,” $2.1 million.

9. “for KING + COUNTRY’S: A Drummer Boy Christmas,” $2.1 million.

10. “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever,” $1.5 million.