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 — originally planned as a series for Disney+ before being redirected to the big screen — 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; with $386 million worldwide, it is the second best global launch of the year.

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 a record $420 million in Thanksgiving weekend ticket sales, according to Comscore, more than $100 million more than ever before. 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 – the much-hyped 2023 “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.

“Moana 2” was at the heart of a change in strategy for Disney. At the start of its development, it was intended as a series intended for streaming. But when Bob Iger returned as CEO, he reconsidered the balance between cinema and streaming. After all, the original film “Moana” was the most streamed film on Disney+ in 2023, earning an additional $680 million at the box office in 2016. It was only in February of this year that Iger announced the release of “Moana 2”, starring Auli. ‘i Cravalho and Dwayne Johnson return as the voices of Moana and Maui.

“It just shows you that the big screen and the small screen are not antagonistic. They can be complementary and additive,” explains Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore. “Whoever made the decision to move to the big screen on a global scale with ‘Moana 2’ was one of the biggest decisions ever made.”

And it has contributed to the resurgence of the Walt Disney Co., whose last two November animated releases — “Strange World” and “Wish” — fizzled in theaters. “Moana 2” could become the third film to generate $1 billion for the studio in 2024, joining “Inside Out 2” and “Deadpool & Wolverine.” Although reviews for “Moana 2″ were only 65% ​​”fresh” on Rotten Tomatoes, audiences gave it an “A-” CinemaScore.

“Moana 2” is also part of a major rebound for family cinema. According to David A. Gross, a movie consultant who publishes a newsletter for Franchise Entertainment, family moviegoing in 2024 will account for about $6.8 billion in ticket sales, roughly the same as 2022 and 2023 united.

After such a big debut, “Moana 2” and “Wicked” will likely continue to rule the cinema well into December. The only question will be whether this year’s Christmas movies — historically a much bigger holiday for movie theaters — can come close to matching the Thanksgiving lineup. Films destined for this holiday corridor include Disney’s “Mufasa: The Lion King,” Paramount’s “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” and Searchlight’s “A Complete Unknown,” starring Timothée Chalamet as a young Bob Dylan.

Final national figures will be released on Monday. Estimated ticket sales Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore:

1. “Moana 2,” $135 million.

2. “Wicked,” $80 million.

3. “Gladiator II” $30.7 million.

4. “Red One,” $12.9 million.

5. “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever,” $3.3 million.

6. “Bonhoeffer: Pastor. Spy. Assassin,” $2.4 million.

7. “Venom: The Last Dance,” $2.2 million.

8. “Heretic,” $956,797.

9. “The Wild Robot,” $670,000.

10. “A Real Pain,” $665,000.