The five-day domestic opening of 'Moana 2' generated $221 million, setting a new record for the biggest Thanksgiving box office.

• The biggest cinematic history was achieved during the five-day Thanksgiving holiday by Disney's "Moana 2," Universal's "Wicked," and Paramount's "Gladiator II."
• The top performance of a Thanksgiving weekend film was achieved by "Moana 2," with $221 million in domestic ticket sales.
• The estimated ticket sales for the holiday increased by $117.5 million, with "Wicked" continuing to perform well.
• Over the same period, $44 million was added to the earnings of "Gladiator II.

This year, the Thanksgiving box office was filled with feasting, but no signs of famine.

The combined success of Disney's "Moana 2," Universal's "Wicked," and Paramount's "Gladiator II" led to the biggest five-day Thanksgiving holiday box office haul in cinematic history, with an estimated $420 million in revenue as of Sunday.

According to Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore, the Thanksgiving box office has experienced a surge due to three successful films from different genres, which has revitalized the theatrical market after a slump during the summer.

"Frozen II" was surpassed by "Moana 2" during the five-day Thanksgiving weekend, with "Moana 2" earning $221 million, significantly higher than the $100 million analysts initially predicted.

The holiday season saw "Wicked" continue to perform well, with an estimated $117.5 million in ticket sales. This brought its domestic total to $262.42 million, making it the highest-grossing Broadway adaptation of all time. The film has also been a success globally, with $359.2 million in earnings after 10 days in theaters.

"Gladiator II" has grossed an estimated $111.2 million in domestic ticket sales during its first 10 days in theaters and $320 million globally since opening internationally earlier this month.

"The historic weekend at movie theaters has been described in abundance by Shawn Robbins, director of analytics at Fandango and founder of Box Office Theory. The success of 'Moana 2' exceeding expectations, along with the excelling of fellow tentpole films 'Wicked' and 'Gladiator II,' highlights the significance of moviegoing in our culture."

Since 2019, the Thanksgiving holiday haul has not exceeded $200 million, and prior to this weekend, only one Thanksgiving period had surpassed $300 million.

The previous record for ticket sales was set by "Ralph Breaks the Internet," "Creed II," and "Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald," which generated a combined total of $315 million in sales.

The strong performance of the box office during the Thanksgiving period in 2024 has helped close the gap between its earnings and those of 2023. The 2024 box office suffered due to labor strikes in Hollywood, which halted production and delayed many major blockbuster releases until 2025 and beyond.

According to Comscore, the 2024 box office is now only 6.4% behind the previous year's numbers, despite being down 11% heading into the holiday period.

NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast, distributed "Wicked" and owns "Fandango."