Heading into the weekend, it looked like Moana 2 might lose its top spot at the box office after falling behind Wicked the last few days of the week, but the box office numbers for the weekend of December 13 are in, and they show Dwayne Johnson’s animated sequel sitting on the throne for the third weekend in a row. Moana 2 claimed the top spot by hauling in $26 million this weekend, a 48% drop from the weekend prior that still helped its domestic total reach $337 million. The film has also earned $379 million in international markets, bringing its worldwide cumulative haul to $717 million, moving it past Dune: Part Two to become the fourth-highest-grossing movie of the year at the global box office.
Previous weeks saw Wicked and Gladiator 2 in the second and third spots, and while Jon M. Chu’s musical continued its second-place dominance, Ridley Scott’s legacy sequel dropped to #4. Wicked experienced a smaller drop than Moana 2 by grossing $22 million this weekend, only 38% less than last weekend. Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande’s Broadway adaptation has earned $359 million overall at the domestic box office and $165 million internationally, bringing its worldwide total to $524 million. Wicked is still the fourth-highest-grossing movie of the year domestically, roughly $22 million ahead of Moana 2 and only $2 million behind Despicable Me 4, which grossed $361 million domestically. Once Wicked passes Despicable Me 4 this week, it would need another whopping $275 million domestically to reach Deadpool & Wolverine, which can likely be ruled out as its box office returns begin to dwindle.
In a spectacular display of flopping, Sony’s Kraven the Hunter claimed the #3 spot and debuted in theaters to only $11 million, a total that Venom: The Last Dance beat handily during its first three weekends in theaters after opening to $51 million, $40 million more than Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s Kraven. Sony has had some wins with the Venom franchise, but other SSU installments like Morbius, Madame Web, and now Kraven the Hunter failed to even earn back their reported budgets. Gladiator 2 claimed the #4 spot at the box office this weekend after grossing $7.8 million, a 38% drop identical to its "Glicked" counterpart. The war epic that’s earning Denzel Washington major Oscar buzz has now grossed $145 million domestically and $252 million internationally for a worldwide total of just under $400 million. Gladiator 2 is also the highest-grossing movie of Washington’s career and helped lift Ridley Scott past Tim Burton on the list of highest-grossing directors.
‘Interstellar’ and ‘Red One’ Find Success While ‘The War of the Rohirrim’ Flops
Kraven wasn’t the only franchise film to debut with underwhelming numbers; The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim concluded the weekend in the #5 spot after premiering to only $4.6 million domestically, which pairs with a $5.7 million haul from international markets to bring its worldwide total to just over $10 million, a sting lessened slightly by its modest budget of only $30 million. One of the most shocking performers this weekend was Red One, the Christmas action flick starring Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans. The film scored another $4.4 million this weekend, dropping only 37% despite premiering on streaming on Thursday, an unbelievable theatrical showing for a movie available to watch at home for anyone with a Prime Video subscription. Red One’s domestic total sits at $96 million while its international haul at $82 million helps bring its global cumulative total to $175 million.
Following closely behind Red One is Interstellar at #7, back in theaters for its 10th anniversary, and earning $3.3 million on only 321 screens, dropping only 28% and bringing its per-theater gross to over $10,000 and also making it the highest-grossing re-release for any IMAX movie, ever. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever added another $1.3 million to its domestic total, only dropping 10% from last weekend and helping its domestic total cross the $36 million mark. Daniel Craig's Queer also opened in new theaters this weekend and brought in $790,000 from only 460 screens, bringing its worldwide total to just under $2 million.
There are two major contenders at the box office this weekend, with Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Mufasa: The Lion King both slated to arrive on Friday. The Sonic movies have collectively grossed more than $700 million worldwide between the two of them, with roughly $300 million coming from the first and $400 million from the sequel. The Lion King franchise, however, holds more than $2.6 billion between its two movies, including a $1.6 billion performance with the live-action debut in 2019. Look for Mufasa: The Lion King to take the top spot this weekend, and Sonic the Hedgehog 3 to contend with other major players like Moana 2 and Wicked for #2.
Moana 2 claimed the top spot at the box office once again, but Mufasa: The Lion King will likely take #1 next weekend. Stay tuned to Collider for future box office updates and find tickets below for a showtime of Moana 2 near you.
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Moana 2
Moana sets out on another daring voyage, venturing into uncharted territories to save her island from a looming ancient danger. Joined by the demigod Maui and her steadfast friends, she braves perilous seas and encounters new allies along the way. Her quest leads to revelations about her ancestors and deeper insights into her bond with the ocean.
Director David G. Derrick Jr. , Jason Hand , Dana Ledoux Miller
Runtime 100 Minutes
English (US) ·