UPDATE: “Moana 2” earned a whopping $44M on Wednesday. You’ll soon see the trades bundle up Wednesday and Thursday earnings into a single package —which is standard procedure — and report that it made $58M on its opening weekend. A $250M five-day total is not off the table for this one. Monstrous numbers.
“Wicked” continued its commercial success by racking up another $20M on Wednesday. It has so far made $165M domestic in just six days of release, and will likely hit $250M by Sunday. When all is said and done, it might end its run at over $450M. The second chapter has already been shoot — both films are said to have cost a combined $350M.
Meanwhile, “Gladiator II” earned $6M yesterday. Its domestic total currently stands at $73M. Its overseas receipts are helping it a lot as Ridley Scott’s epic is currently at $240M worldwide. Of course, the glaring issue here is that $250M budget, plus the $100M+ in P&A marketing that Paramount dished out on the film.
EARLIER: Disney’s “Moana 2” arrived in theaters last night. Banking on the 2016 original, the sequel opened with around $14M in previews. That’s slightly less than the $15M the first one made on its opening day. As mentioned yesterday, the middling reviews (67% on RT) won’t detract much from its box office intake — it’s practically sealed to be one of the top 3 highest grossers of 2024.