2024 has already seen a lot of massive box office successes, with the year seeing the continued recovery of movie theaters after the COVID-19 pandemic. Inside Out 2 and Deadpool & Wolverine both made over $1 billion at the box office, while Despicable Me 4, Dune: Part Two, and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire round out the top five of the year as of the writing of this article. However, three November releases have the possibility to shoot into the highest-grossing movies of the year, with Moana 2, Wicked, and Gladiator being massive hits over Thanksgiving.
2024’s Thanksgiving Box Office Breakdown: The Top 10 Grossers Domestically
Moana 2 Came In First Place
Moana 2, Wicked, Gladiator 2, and a variety of other major November releases have contributed to the record-breaking Thanksgiving box office, with the total gross of $414 million being the biggest five-day Thanksgiving at the box office in history. According to Box Office Mojo, Moana 2, which released during Thanksgiving week, has an estimated gross of $221 million, making it the highest-performing movie of the five-day weekend. Wicked holds second place, with it making $117.5 million over Thanksgiving. Gladiator 2 is in third place, with the Ridley Scott sequel making another $44 million, bringing the total to $382.5 million.
Red One was fourth, making $18.7 million, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever was fifth, making $4.6 million, Venom: The Last Dance was sixth, making $3.1 million, and The Wild Robot was seventh, making $1 million. Heretic was eighth, making $956,797, A Real Pain was ninth, making $900,000, and Conclave was tenth, making $800,000. While some of these films did release in September or October, they are still going strong alongside the new box office titans, with all of them contributing to 2024’s $414 million Thanksgiving success.
Moana 2’s Opening Accounts For Over Half Of 2024’s Record Thanksgiving Opening
The Disney Sequel Had An Explosive Opening
Although all of the top 10 movies at the box office played a major role in 2024’s Thanksgiving record, none of them can hold a candle to Moana 2. The latest film from Walt Disney Animation Studios accounts for over half of the weekend’s total box office. In Moana 2‘s five-day opening, the film made $221 million, with the domestic box office alone already surpassing the film’s estimated budget of $150 million. Moana 2 made $28 million on Thanksgiving Day alone, nearly doubling Frozen II‘s $14.9 million gross on Thanksgiving Day 2019, further highlighting how big the animated sequel is.
If other 2024 animated movies like The Wild Robot are anything to go by, Moana 2 may only be seeing the start of its box office successes, as it could have some serious legs. At the domestic box office, Moana 2 is already the eighth-highest grossing movie of the year. It is entirely possible that it could pass the other animated films that are ahead of it, those being Despicable Me 4 and Inside Out 2, the highest grossing movie of 2024 so far.
Wicked, Gladiator 2 & Red One Had Incredibly Low Box Office Drops Over Thanksgiving
Proving Their Continued Successes
While Moana 2‘s box office success is the most notable story coming out of 2024’s Thanksgiving box office, the incredibly low box office drops for several other films are also a big deal. Compared to its previous weekend, Wicked only had a 29% drop, making $80 million over its second weekend and $112.5 million in its opening weekend. Gladiator 2 followed a similar pattern, having only a 44% drop, making $30.7 million in its second weekend after its $55.5 million opening weekend.
Meanwhile, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s Christmas adventure film Red One had a consistent box office despite having already been out for a few weeks. Red One only dropped 2.5% from its second weekend to its third weekend, making $12.9 million, although it did have a 59% drop from its first to its second weekend. So, while Red One was a box office disappointment, Thanksgiving definitely helped boost its numbers.
2024 Shattered The Previous Thanksgiving Box Office Record
Beating 2018’s Box Office
2024’s five-day Thanksgiving weekend box office is now the highest-grossing one ever, not only beating the previous record year, but shattering it. Before 2024, 2018’s five-day Thanksgiving was the record-holder, with the domestic box office total being $315.6 million. Ralph Breaks the Internet, Creed II, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindlewald, The Grinch, Bohemian Rhapsody, and more contributed to this success, although the highest-grossing of these only made $84.7 million, with Moana 2‘s $221 million blowing Ralph Breaks the Internet out of the water.
2024’s Thanksgiving box office made nearly $100 million more than 2018’s, a number that could grow even greater once the estimates are finally set in stone. This shows how legendary the five-day weekend in 2024 was, with Moana 2, Wicked, Gladiator 2, and a variety of other offerings from different studios coming together to create magic at movie theaters across the United States and Canada.
What 2024’s Thanksgiving Box Office Means For Moana 2, Wicked & Gladiator 2
They Should Hold Strong Into December
Moana 2‘s massive box office opening is great news for the film, with it setting the stage for a successful second weekend. Moana 2 was originally only estimated to make $105–115 million over the five-day weekend, with the final gross proving that it would be a much bigger success than many originally thought. Moana 2 will most likely become one of the highest grossing movies of 2024, with the December holidays undoubtedly helping the film’s continued success.
Wicked‘s minimal drop at the box office proves that it too will continue to do well over December, with it being a family film with broad appeal that could be helped out by the holidays. Although Gladiator II had a slightly bigger drop and is more niche due to its R-rating, it will very likely continue to do well for a few more weekends, with Thanksgiving proving that the film can succeed at the box office after its opening weekend.
