NEW YORK – Christmas came early at the box office this year.

“Moana 2” attracted a tidal wave of moviegoers over Thanksgiving weekend, setting records with $221 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday. This, combined with “Wicked” And “Gladiator II” made for a unique weekend at the cinema and a confluence of blockbusters more like what we often find at the end of December.

Expectations were high for Walt Disney Co.’s “Moana 2,” but the film blew predictions out of the water. Its five-day opening set a new record for Thanksgiving cinema. The previous record was $125 million for “Frozen 2” in its second week of release in 2019. “Moana 2” added $165.3 million internationally.

At the same time, the feeling of “Wicked” has shown no signs of slowing down. The Universal Pictures musical grossed $117.5 million over the five-day weekend, bringing its two-week worldwide total to $359.2 million. Without accounting for inflation, “Wicked” is now the highest-grossing Broadway adaptation compared to “Grease.” (This 1978 film grossed $190 million, but accounting for inflation it would top $900 million.)

“Gladiator II,” meanwhile, also held up well, down 44% from its opening weekend. Ridley Scott’s Oscar-winning sequel to his best original film raked in $44 million in its second weekend. Although its hefty $250 million price tag will make profitability difficult, “Gladiator II” quickly amassed $320 million worldwide.

These three films brought the overall box office to more than $400 million in ticket sales for Thanksgiving weekend, a record. For an industry battered in recent years by the pandemic, work stoppages and streaming-driven upheaval, it was a triumphant weekend that showcased the still-potent power of the Hollywood blockbuster machine. Before “Wicked,” “Moana 2” and “Gladiator II” arrived in theaters, ticket sales were about 25% below pre-pandemic levels.

Michael O’Leary, president and CEO of the National Association of Theater Owners, said the weekend showed what was possible when “all the pieces of the puzzle came together” to create compelling, big-budget films with a marketing powerhouse.

“We are very optimistic that this weekend marks the start of what we believe will be a real push into the future,” he said. “The rest of the year looks very promising, then 2025 and 2026. We hope that next year will be the first normal year this industry has seen in a long time.”

Like the last time such highly anticipated films collided on the release schedule – like during the much-hyped 2023 film “Barbenheimer” – the film industry could once again see evidence of a rising cinematic tide lifting all the blockbusters. In recent years, studios have generally tried to space out most of their biggest releases. Earlier this fall, “Venom: The Last Dance,” for example, was the #1 film for three consecutive weeksalthough it was not particularly successful.

“For a very long time, there’s been a belief in Hollywood that you don’t confront big blockbuster films,” O’Leary said. “But the truth is that competition is good. It’s good for cinema. It’s good for studios. This is good for theater owners. But it’s particularly interesting for the movie-loving public.