Disney, Giles Keyte / Universal Pictures
This Thanksgiving box office line-up will be the most successful of the post-pandemic era — and could be one of the most successful in history.
It started on November 22, when "Wicked" and "Gladiator II" premiered in theaters.
"Wicked," directed by Jon M. Chu, is based on one of Broadway's longest-running shows. Fans have been anticipating the film adaptation since the musical first hit the stage in 2003.
"Gladiator II" is a sequel to the original film, released in 2000.
The films topped the box office opening weekend. "Gladiator II" made $106 million in ticket sales, while "Wicked" brought in $164 million. "Wicked" also had a higher opening weekend than any other other film based on a Broadway show.
"Moana 2," the sequel to the 2016 Disney film, hit theaters on November 27 — day one of the five-day Thanksgiving weekend. It's projected to bring in between $135 and $145 million, per Variety.
In 2016, "Moana" topped box offices on Thanksgiving weekend with $81 million in ticket sales.
"The trifecta of 'Moana 2,' 'Wicked,' and 'Gladiator II' is a bona fide perfect storm for movie theaters this Thanksgiving," Fandango analytics director and Box Office Theory founder Shawn Robbins told CNBC. He predicted 2024 Thanksgiving weekend box office sales would surpass the $200 million made in 2019 — and be among the most lucrative in the history of cinema.
"The holiday used to regularly see major releases combining for all-audience appeal, but that's been a challenge for the industry to replicate in the post-pandemic era so far," he told CNBC. "This year is much different with such a holy trinity of tentpole releases that could anchor some of the biggest all-around box office results the holiday frame has ever seen."
