'Moana 2' and 'Wicked' Are Still on Fire

Hollywood is continuing to lean heavily on a pair of movies, Moana 2 and Wicked, that caught fire at the winter box office. The two movies have finally given theater owners something to smile about in an otherwise gloomy 2024. Although these two movies are the brightest lights currently in theaters, action sequel Gladiator II is holding on well, too, and looks as if it will turn a modest profit despite its giant production budget. Read on for details.

Via Variety.

“Moana 2” has notched $600 million in global ticket sales, standing as the sixth-biggest movie of the year after just two weeks of release.

Disney’s animated sequel, which was developed as a TV series before pivoting to theaters, has generated $300 million overseas and $300 million domestically for an even global tally of $600 million. In the coming days, it’ll overtake the lifetime gross of its predecessor, 2016’s “Moana,” with $643 million worldwide.

Over the weekend, “Moana 2” added a sizable $103.5 million from 52 international markets as well as $52 million in North America. Outside of the United States and Canada, France has enjoyed the biggest turnout with $32.5 million to date, followed by the United Kingdom with $27.2 million, Germany with $19.7 million and Mexico with $19.1 million.

Among new offerings, the Warner Bros. anime fantasy film “The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim,” faltered with $2 million from 3,410 screens in 31 territories. The movie, based on J. R. R. Tolkien characters and set 183 years before the events of Peter Jackson’s “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, opens in North America and an additional 42 offshore markets on Dec. 13. Top earning territories were Spain with $347,000 followed by Mexico with $239,000 and Thailand with $146,000.

In another box office milestone, Universal’s “Wicked” adaptation surpassed $400 million worldwide, including $135 million overseas and $320 million domestically. The big-budget musical added $26 million from 79 international markets, including openings in France with $2 million and Netherlands with $1.9 million. “Wicked” faltered in China with a dismal $1.2 million debut on 8,900 screens, ranking at No. 8 on the country’s box office charts.

Meanwhile, Paramount’s “Gladiator II” collected $17 million in its fourth frame at the international box office, boosting its tally to $235 million overseas and $368.4 million globally.

Get the rest of the story at Variety.