FRIDAY PM: For all the chatter in years past about people getting distracted by holiday stuff, if there’s one thing that’s on their list this weekend, it’s going to the movies.
Disney’s Moana 2 will see a second weekend of $55M-$60M, the most any No. 1 movie has seen during the historically ratcheted down post-Thanksgiving period. Again, anything over Frozen 2‘s post-Thanksgiving frame take of $35.1M back in 2019 is a record No. 1 take for this frame. This is after a second Friday that’s in the vicinity of $11M-$12M, which will get the sequel past the 2016’s original’s final stateside cume of $248.7M. Second frame is -57% to -60% from pic’s opening weekend of $139.7M.
Both Moana 2 and Wicked are expected to cross $300M this weekend, the latter sooner than the former. The highest grossing Broadway musical of all-time at the domestic box office will hit $300M sometime on Saturday while Moana 2 should cross by EOD Sunday. Moana 2 is booked at 4,200 theaters while Wicked is at 3,885 theaters.
The Jon M. Chu directed Ariana Grande-Cynthia Erivo Wicked is looking at a third Friday of $9.25M, for a third weekend of $31.7M, -61%. As we told you yesterday, Wicked won Thursday and Wednesday over Moana 2. Wicked‘s Thursday number this AM was $4.78M.
Third place goes to Paramount’s Gladiator II at 3,440 theaters with a third Friday of $3.45M at 3,450 locations, $12.3M third weekend, -60%, for a running total of $132.5M.
Making waves in fourth place is Prathyangira Cinemas’ Pushpa 2 – The Rule at 1,245 theaters. The movie, which included Wednesday previews, beat Moana 2 yesterday for second place with $4.5M, the latter settling at $4.2M. Outlook for the Indian action gangster cop sequel is a $5.6M 3-day with a $10.1M four-day run by EOD Sunday.
Fifth goes to the fourth weekend of Amazon MGM Studios’ Red One at 3,150 theaters which is shaping up for a $1.5M Friday and 3-day of $5.5M, -57%, for a running total of $84.2M.
A24’s Kyle Mooney directed, Rachel Zegler starring horror comedy Y2K is eyeing $1.1M today after $300K in previews last night for a $2M+ opening. Yikes, that’s low for the hipster cinema brand. The movie cost under $15M.
Don’t dismiss Paramount’s 10th anniversary re-release of Chistopher Nolan’s Interstellar which at 165 locations is putting up $1.6M today for a $4.77M 3-day; people, that’s a $28,9K theater average. The original Matthew McConaughey movie ended its domestic run at $188M.