411 Box Office Report: Moana 2 Reigns For Second Weekend With $52 Million

Moana 2 continued its reign atop the box office this weekend, sharing the top three with Wicked and Gladiator II. The Disney animated film brought in $52 million in its second weekend, down a slightly larger than expected 63% from last weekend’s record-setting start.

That is a higher drop than the first film, which slipped 50% in its second weekend in 2016. It was expected that the sequel would fall bigger than the first film; the film had a much stronger start and was a bit less warmly received by critics than the first. The drop is a bit larger than the 57% or so that many expected it to fall and is more on par with the 61% that Wish fell in its second weekend.

All that said, Disney isn’t too worried about it. Even if there’s some money left on the table, Moana 2 is already a giant hit with $300 million domestically and $600 million worldwide against a $150 million budget. There will be no direct family competition until Mufasa arrives in two weeks, which means there’s plenty of time for Moana 2 to dominate the field. Right now the film looks like it will cross $430 million domestically and perhaps a bit more.

Wicked was off 57% in its third weekend after two monster frames, bringing in $34.9 million. That puts the musical up to $320.5 million domestically and $455.6 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing Broadway musical adaptation by any measure you can find. If you break it down to any kind of musical, it stands at #4 behind Frozen ($401 million), Frozen II ($477.4 million) and the live-action Beauty & the Beast ($504 million).

Wicked is currently looking to maintain strong box office legs, particularly if it starts racking up award season nominations as expected. We can still expect it to top $400 million with relative ease and perhaps higher, making it extremely profitable for Universal.

Gladiator II was down 60% in its third frame as it brought in $12.5 million. Ridley Scott’s action sequel has brought its numbers to $132.7 million domestically and $368.4 million worldwide, making it Scott’s highest-grossing film since The Martian totaled $228.4 million stateside and $653.6 million in 2015. It also stands as Denzel Washington’s highest-grossing film, having eked by 2007’s American Gangster ($130.2 million domestic, $268 million worldwide).

Unlike the other two films, Gladiator will have some more direct competition coming next week. It is looking dicier than its fellow toppers due to its $250 million budget but should be able to get to $165 million domestically, while overseas numbers push it toward some level of profit (or close to it).

Red One was down 45% in its fourth week to bring in $7 million. The holiday action flick is now at $85.8 million in the US and $164 million worldwide, clawing its way toward a breakeven point when you consider the ancillary revenue it will bring to Amazon MGM when it arrives on Prime Video. It is still on course for a $100 million domestic finish.

A host of additions to the box office dominated the rest of the box office, starting with Pushpa: The Rule Part 2. The Telugu-language action film brought in $4.9 million over the three-day weekend, bringing its domestic total to $9.3 million since opening on Wednesday. The three-day is a big improvement over the first film, which started at $1.3 million in 2021.

As with most Indian films, Pushpa’s primary market is not the US and the money it brings in here is just adding to the coffers. As of now, the movie has totaled a massive $90 million worldwide. It will, as usual, drop off the US charts quickly but its distribution companies (AA Films in the US) are going to be very happy with the results.

A re-release came in at #6, namely Interstellar. Christopher Nolan’s sci-fi drama arrived for a 10th anniversary reentry and brought in $4.4 million. That brings the film’s totals to $192.4 million and $650.5 million worldwide through all releases.

Anime film Solo Levelling – Reawakening – was up next, grossing $2.4 million. That’s right about where the Crunchyroll film was expected to do. The film was never expected to hit the upper tier of anime releases, being essentially a recap of the show’s first season and a look at the second season’s first two episodes, but it was also not expensive and serves as marketing for Crunchyroll. It will drop out of the top 10 quickly and is very unlikely to be around next week.

Much like the event that it is set around, Y2K didn’t make much of an impact. The 1990s-set horror flick brought in just $2.1 million, a bit below the mid-single digits start most believed it would do. It was a busy week at the box office and A24 didn’t do much to market this; the horror comedy didn’t get its first trailer until three months ago, and the marketing didn’t kick in until last month.

It also doesn’t help that there isn’t a lot of positive sentiment for the film, which sits at a mediocre 43% aggregated critic score on Rotten Tomatoes with a C- CinemaScore and 43% RT audience score. The film is not going to be profitable in theaters against a $15 million budget, leaving A24 to hope for success on the home viewing market.

The concert film For King + Country: A Drummer Boy Christmas came in fine at $2.1 million. The holiday event, released by Fathom Events, has $2.6 million since arriving on Wednesday and will be out of the top 10 in short order. No word on its budget.

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever closed out the top 10 with $1.5 million in its fifth week, down 53% from last weekend. The Lionsgate holiday comedy has grossed $34.5 million in the US and $34.6 million worldwide against a $10 million budget, making it a hit ahead of its expected VOD/Digital release on Tuesday.

Next weekend will see two films try to make a mark, but Moana 2 will remain on top. Sony delves into their Spider-Man Universe with Kraven The Hunter, which is looking at a $25 million start. And Warner Bros’ animated The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim should be around $10 million to $12 million.

BOX OFFICE TOP TEN (Three-Day Domestic Numbers)
1. Moana – $52 million ($300 million total, $600 million WW)
2. Wicked – $34.9 million ($320.5 million total, $455.6 million WW)
3. Gladiator II – $12.5 million ($132.7 million total, $368.4 million WW)
4. Red One – $7 million ($85.8 million total, $164 million WW)
5. Pushpa: The Rule Part 2 – $4.9 million ($9.3 million total, $90 million WW)
6. Interstellar – $4.4 million ($192.4 million total, $650.5 million WW)
7. Solo Levelling – Reawakening – – $2.4 million ($2.4 million total, $3.5 million WW)
8. Y2K – $2.1 million ($2.1 million total, $2.1 million WW)
9. For King + Country: A Drummer Boy Christmas – $2.1 million ($2.6 million total, $2.6 million WW)
10. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever – $1.5 million ($34.5 million total, $34.6 million WW)