Box office: Moana 2 overwhelms the competition and rakes in $600 million

After its great start during the Thanksgiving weekend, the “tsunami” Moana 2 continues to be felt at the American box office. The latest Disney production once again finishes well at the top of the ranking, ahead of solid Wicked And Gladiator 2.

But the surprise came from India, where the blockbuster Pushpa: The Rule – Part 2 marks one of the biggest global successes of the weekend.

Disney and Wicked wear the end of the year

Buoyed by his titanic weekend last week, Moana 2 adds $52 million to its total, and offers the best post-Thanksgiving weekend in history, dethroning the previous record of Frozen 2 (35.2 million).

The film lost 63% of its audience in the second week – among the highlights of productions of this scale – and took its US total beyond 300 million dollars, when the world total had already reached 600 million. It's only a matter of days for this sequel to surpass the 643 million of the first film, with more than ever the billion mark on the horizon.

In second place, Wicked also shows impressive results, with 34.8 million added to its bag. The adaptation of the Broadway play reached $320 million on home soil and is currently the 4th best result of the year, behind Despicable Me 4, Deadpool 3 And Vice-Versa 2.

The success of Wicked is undeniable, especially in North America where it accounts for 70% of its audience. For comparison, the market for Moana 2 is more balanced, with 50% outside the United States. As a reminder, the feature film has a budget of $150 million (largely reimbursed), and a sequel is already planned in theaters for November 26, 2025.

Gladiator 2 is a bit of a big loser at the end of this busy year. Weighed down by a production and marketing budget in excess of $350 million, the epic will struggle to repay its bill, despite its third place over the weekend and its new $12.4 million.

Ridley Scott's film stands at 132.7 million in the United States, and can thank strong international markets, which represent 64% of its worldwide total. At this rate, Gladiator 2 should end its career below 500 million dollars, and is not even guaranteed to pass the score of the original film (465 million). Disappointing.

But the surprise of the weekend was not in America. It was therefore necessary to turn to India and to the film Pushpa: The Rule – Part 2which tells the story of a vengeful vigilante in the world of smuggling. The Bollywood blockbuster raked in $92.5 million in four short days, becoming the third biggest hit of the weekend behind Moana 2 And Wicked.

This shows an impressive increase in the score of the first film, released in 2021, which had totaled $46 million in its career. This great start also allowed it to sign the best first day for an Indian film with 34.6 million dollars, dethroning the previous record held by RRR since 2022. The feature film is on track to become the biggest Indian success of the year, starting next week. To be continued.

US box office December 6-8, 2024 (estimates)