‘Moana’ 2 tops Thanksgiving weekend box office with record-breaking $221 million debut

Disney’s Moana 2 posted a heroic box office box office debut, setting a Thanksgiving weekend box office record with an estimated $221 million. 

The animated adventure, featuring Auli’i Cravalho and Dwayne Johnson returning as the voices of Moana and Maui, respectively, was the biggest five-day domestic opening of all time, surpassing The Super Mario Bros. Movie which had $204.6 million in 2023. Moana 2 is also the all-time biggest Thanksgiving weekend debut, beating the $125 million five-day Thanksgiving haul held by Disney’s Frozen in 2013.

Overseas, Moana 2 grabbed an estimated $165.3 million, for a global tally of $386.3 million.

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Meanwhile, Wicked continued its impressive box office run, earning an estimated $117.5 million over the long weekend for a second place finish. That brings its two-week North American tally to $262.4 million and $359.3 million worldwide.

It’s now the highest-grossing musical based on a Broadway musical.

Third place went to Gladiator II, delivering an estimated $44 million in its second week of release. Its two week totals currently stand at $111.2 million domestically and $320 million worldwide.

The holiday adventure Red One snagged the number four spot, adding an estimated $18.7 million, bringing its North American tally to $75 million, for a total of $148.6 million globally.

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever rounded out the top five with an estimated $4.9 million over the Thanksgiving weekend. Its domestic gross now stands at $32 million and $32.1 million globally.

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