Post-Thanksgiving Box Office Is Usually the Worst. This Year, It’s One of the Best

For theaters, the post-Thanksgiving weekend usually serves leftover turkeys. Not this year: With “Moana 2” (Disney) and “Wicked” (Universal) leading the way, all films grossed around $135 million. While that’s not a record weekend for 2024 (it’s #13), the total nearly doubles last year’s and it may represent the highest attendance since at least 2012.

This date usually serves as halftime between two holidays, with one or two Thanksgiving holdovers still strong but little other action. With “Gladiator II” (Paramount), this weekend has three.

Among specialized and limited releases, Luca Guadagnino’s “Queer” stood out with a second-weekend expansion to 47 theaters and $406,000. Longer-running awards contenders saw weaker post-holiday results.

The weekend also featured a number of non-studio and event presentations with many distributors using the opportunity to get screens to taking their best shot. A handful worked, but a lot of interesting, well-reviewed titles ended up with little to no impact.

Though these included several worthy of note, the important results for theaters came at the top. “Moana 2” had a stellar second weekend of $52 million, reaching $300 million U.S./Canada in only 12 days ($600 million worldwide). In its third weekend, “Wicked” added just under $35 million for $320 million domestic. Foreign is less impressive; worldwide, it’s $445 million.

At #3 “Gladiator II” added over $12 million, just under $133 million domestic and $236 million worldwide. “Red One” (Amazon MGM) is #4 with $7 million, close to $86 million.

As is typical after the busy holiday, drops were higher than normal. “Moana 2” fell 63 percent, “Wicked” fell 57 percent, “Gladiator II” dropped 60 percent, and “Red One” held best with a 45 percent drop. However, these grosses are still strong and total box office is down just six percent from 2023.

“Moana” and “Wicked” will continue strong through early January and each will easily top $500 million, with significantly more possible. That’s great for theaters, and terrific for their studios with their production budgets around $150 million each. “Gladiator” and “Red One” should claim significant holdover status, but both reportedly cost $250 million or more before marketing. Profitability remains a work in progress.

‘Interstellar’Melinda Sue Gordon

The top 10 otherwise includes an array of niche offerings, often at fewer than 1,000 theaters. “Pusha — The Rule: Part 2“ (Prathyangira), a Telugu-language Indian action sequel, grossed $4.9 million in 1,245 theaters for fifth place, with $9.3 million since its Thursday opening.

Also opening in the top 10 were the re-release for Christopher Nolan’s “Interstellar” (Paramount) in IMAX, a stellar $4.4 million in 165 theaters; Crunchyroll’s anime “Solo Level — Reawakening” (Sony) with $2.4 million in 846 theaters; a very weak “YK2” (A24) with $2.1 million in 2,108 theaters, and concert presentation “For King + Country: A Drummer Boy Christmas” with $1.6 million in four days.

Other wider openers were modest at best despite good reviews. Highest grossing was “Werewolves” (Briarcliff) with $1.1 million, but a per-theater average under $900. Justin Kurzel’s bank robbery thriller “The Order” (Vertical) managed $878,000 in 603 theaters. “The Odyssey” re-imagining “The Return” (Bleecker Street) with Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche only managed $355,000 in 629.

Two concert events, in fewer theaters, fared somewhat better. “Laufey’s A Night at the Symphony: Hollywood Bowl” (Trafalagar) grossed $845,000 in 133, while the Korean “RM: Right People, Wrong Place” (Variance) took in $598,000 in 594.

Paul Schrader’s “Oh, Canada” (Kino Lorber) was best among platform openers with $33,000 in three New York theaters. Joshua Oppenheimer’s fantasy musical “The End” (Neon) disappointed with under $23,000 in three initial locations. The Danish “The Girl with the Needle” (MUBI) took in $11,500 in two theaters. Tribeca-premiere comedy “Bad Shabbos” (Menemsha) opened to an impressive $13,400 in one Miami-area theater.

‘Nightbitch‘ ©Searchlight Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection

Also opening, but not reporting grosses, was Marielle Heller’s “Nightbitch” with Amy Adams (a Spirit Award Best Actress nominee last week). Per exhibition and distributions sources, there seems to be some confusion as to when it became an awards qualifying one-week engagement. Per tradition, these runs don’t have grosses reported until the actual release. However, it is playing nationwide in around 80 theaters; outside of Netflix, that’s an unheard-of number for a qualifying run. Per a Searchlight source, it is scheduled for streaming in the near future. No word of any further theatrical play.

“A Real Pain” (Searchlight), “Conclave” (Focus), and “Anora” (Neon), all significant awards contenders, each grossed under $300,000 this weekend.

Top 10

1. Moana 2 (Disney) Week 2; Last weekend #1

$52,000,000 (-63%) in 4,200 theaters (no change); PTA: $12,381; Cumulative: $300,039,000

2. Wicked (Universal) Week 3; Last weekend #2

$34,850,000 (-57%) in 3,885 (-3) theaters; PTA: $8,970; Cumulative: $320,500,000

3. Gladiator II (Paramount) Week 3; Last weekend #3

$12,450,000 (-60%) in 3,440 (-140) theaters; PTA: $3,619; Cumulative: $132,743,000

4. Red One (Amazon MGM) Week 4; Last weekend #4

$7,004,000 (-45%) in 3,150 (-194) theaters; PTA: $2,223; Cumulative: $85,785,000

5. Pusha — The Rule: Part 2 (Prathyangira) NEW – Est. budget: $70 million

$4,881,000 in 1,245 theaters; PTA: $3,920; Cumulative: $9,338,000

6. Interstellar (Paramount) (reissue)

$4,425,000 in 165 theaters; PTA: $26,818; Cumulative: $ (adjusted for inflation) 244,400,000

7. Solo Leveling — Reawakening (Sony)

$2,400,000 in 846 theaters; PTA: $2,837; Cumulative: $2,400,000

8. Y2K (A24) NEW – Cinemascore: C-; Metacritic: 49; Est. budget: $12 million

$2,114,000 in 2,108 theaters; PTA: $1,003; Cumulative: $2,114,000

9. For King + Country’s A Drummer Boy Live (Fathom)

$2,055,000 in 1,540 theaters; PTA: $1,355; Cumulative: $2,617,000

10. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (Lionsgate) Week 5; Last weekend #5

$1,525,000 (-53%) in 1,633 (-146) theaters; PTA: $934; Cumulative: $34,490,000

Other specialized/independent titles

Films (limited, expansions of limited) are listed by week in release, starting with those opened this week; after the first three weeks, only films with grosses over $5,000 are listed. Metacritic scores and initial film festivals recorded when available.

PLATFORM OPENINGS

Oh, Canada (Kino Lorber) NEW – Metacritic: 65; Festivals include: Cannes, Toronto, New York 2024

$33,257 in 3 theaters; PTA: $11,086

The End (Neon) NEW – Metacritic: 68; Festivals include: Telluride, Toronto 2024

$22,747 in 3 theaters; PTA: $7,582

Bad Shabbos (Menemsha) NEW – Festivals include: Tribeca, Hamptons 2024

$13,400 in 1 theater; PTA: $13,400

The Girl with the Needle (MUBI) NEW – Metacritic: 82; Festivals include: Cannes, Toronto 2024

$11,488 in 2 theaters; PTA: $5,744

WIDE RELEASES

Werewolves (Briarcliff) NEW – Metacritic: 52

$1,100,000 in 1,351 theaters; PTA: $814

The Order (Vertical) NEW – Metacritic: 76; Festivals include: Venice, Toronto 2024

$878,000 in 603 theaters; PTA: $1,455

Laufey’s A Night at the Symphony: Hollywood Bowl (Trafalagar) NEW

$845,370 in 406 theaters; PTA: $2,083

RM: Right People, Wrong Place (Variance) NEW – Festivals include: Busan 2024

$598,000 in 594 theaters; PTA: $1,007

The Return (Bleecker Street) NEW – Metacritic: 68; Festivals include: Toronto 2024

$354,585 in 629 theaters; PTA: $563

Trailer Park Boys: Standing on the Shoulders of Kitties (Blue Fox)

$210,000 in 285 theaters; PTA: $737

Get Away (IFC) NEW – Metacritic: 62; Festivals include: Fantastic Fest 2024

$101,999 in 474 theaters; PTA: $215

HOLDOVERS

Queer (A24) Week 2

$405,910 in 47 (+40) theaters; PTA: $; Cumulative: $866,523

The Seed of the Sacred Fig (Neon) Week 2

$25,662 in 5 (+3) theaters; PTA: $5,132; Cumulative: $96,512

Flow (Janus/Sideshow) Week 3

$528,000 in 375 (+373) theaters; PTA: $1,408; Cumulative: $633,332

All We Imagine as Light (Janus/Sideshow) Week 4

$39,300 in 24 (-2) theaters; Cumulative: $324,413

Small Things Like These (Roadside Attractions) Week 5

$20,290 in 33 (-9) theaters; Cumulative: $1,498,000

A Real Pain (Searchlight) Week 6

$291,000 in 220 (-285) theaters; Cumulative: $6,653,000

Conclave (Focus) Week 7; also on PVOD

$210,000 in 231 (-192) theaters; Cumulative: $30,592,000

Anora (Neon) Week 8

$55,000 in 123 (-97) theaters; Cumulative: $13,140,000