This holiday stretch has seen the highest-grossing Thanksgiving weekend at the box office ever thanks to a week of big film releases.
First, audiences flocked to theaters to watch a vengeful gladiator battle the horrors of the old Roman Colosseum and sing along with the witches of Oz. After that, they went back to watch Moana’s perilous sea voyage on the big screen.
With the largest five-day opening ever, including the largest Thanksgiving debut ever, Moana 2 has broken box office records, grossing $221 million in North America since its Wednesday release. The movie nearly quadrupled the $15 million Thanksgiving day record previously set by Frozen 2, and it rocketed past The Super Mario Bros. Movie’s previous five-day opening record of $204.6 million.
The follow-up to Disney’s 2016 film Moana, which is set in ancient Polynesia, follows Moana, the daughter of an island chief, as she flees her home of Motunui in order to remove the curse of a Polynesian god and save her people.
“The movie has exceeded our high expectations this weekend and is a testament to the phenomenon that Moana has become,” said Disney Entertainment Co-Chairman Alan Bergman in a statement.
Throughout Thanksgiving weekend, Universal’s Wicked and Paramount’s Gladiator II both made a ton of money. Over the course of the five days, Gladiator II earned $44 million domestically, while Wicked made an estimated $117.5 million.
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