By Jordan Taylor
Universal’s Wicked enchanted audiences with its $112 million domestic opening last weekend. The movie is at almost $200 million worldwide in only its first week. It’s expected to hold strong in its second weekend, with a predicted $105 million gross over the American Thanksgiving weekend. Last week was the battle of Glicked. Wicked and Gladiator 2 battled for an attempted Barbenheimer level success. This weekend it will be battle of the musicals. Moana 2 will be tough competition. and is expected to take the number one spot. The movie opened in theatres this Tuesday so it could get out in theatres ahead of the American Thanksgiving weekend. Thanksgiving in the United States is a staple release date for Blockbuster movies Moana 2 and Wicked will defiantly take the top 2 spots at the box office this weekend. Gladiator 2 is expected to come in third with $16.9 million in its second weekend. The sequel has grossed $307 million worldwide.
Moana 2 is a sequel to a beloved Disney movie. Moana 2 looks to correct Disney Animation’s recent track record of flops. The sequel is already the biggest Thanksgiving release of all time. Moana 2 opened with $57 million on Wednesday and $28 million on Thursday. The Disney sequel has already grossed $110 million before its opening weekend. By the end of the 5 day weekend, it’s projected to have grossed $128 million worldwide. That is a historic win for Disney. That projection would break Frozen 2’s $125 million record from 2019 for the biggest release in November. That’s the biggest opening for a Disney Animation movie, and the third biggest opening for an animated movie after Incredibles 2 and The Super Mario Bros Movie.
Seneca students weigh in on their favourite musical this season
The overwhelming majority of students at Seneca@York say Wicked and Moana 2 are the top movies of the Holiday season. The only other movie mentioned by students was The upcoming Lion King prequel Mufasa. That being said, that movie doesn’t open until December 20th. Students gave strong reasons for their choice of Wicked. Emma Perry commented saying ” I love both the original Moana, and the Broadway musical Wicked. If I had to choose one though, it would be Wicked without any hesitation. I grew up with the musical, and it’s a movie I’ve been waiting for to get made”.
Elizabeth Cheung echoed the same stance saying ” Musical theatre fans have waiting 2 decades to watch this famous musical be made into a movie. I loved the first Moana, but Moana 2 can wait in my opinion”.
Dev Patel chimed in saying “I’m most excited for The Lion King prequel Mufasa coming out, but between Moana 2, and Wicked, I would take Wicked any day”.
Mindy Stevens also chose Wicked but offered her opinion on why Moana 2 is a worthy opponent. She elaborated on the discussion by bringing up Moana’s appeal around kids and families. Stevens brought up how Moana is constantly trending on Disney Plus. Stevens added, “Moana has become a phenomenon thanks to Disney Plus. It’s blown up thanks to that, and there’s a lot of families that will be heading out the cinemas for that one”. Stevens said there is room for both Wicked And Moana 2 as they target different audience demographics. She explained Wicked is more geared towards adults who love the Broadway Musical, where Moana 2 is geared towards families and kids.
Wicked And Moana Expected To Dominate Box Office Throughout Holiday Season
As far as more competition Wicked and Moana 2 won’t see another worthy opponent at the box office until next month’s Christmas movie season. The 2 big movies opening next moth are the Lion King prequel Mufasa and Sonic 3. With that said, both are expecting franchise lows. As of now Sonic 3 is projected to open higher than Mufasa with a 55 million to 50 million comparison. These projections are no where near Wicked or Moana 2. The first Sonic movie opened with $58 million, while the second opened with $72.1 million Both Sonic movies grossed over $400 million worldwide. Af for Mufasa, its predecessor grossed 1.6 billion at the box office back in 2019. Its 50 million opening is a loud cry from its predecessors $180 opening. These projected numbers could change as we approach its December 20th release date. It could increase as we get closer, and the walk up ticket business both receives could change things. Both these movies could also be slow burners through the Holiday season and New Year. There aren’t many big movies that open in January, and December. Blockbuster movies tend to do good repeat business during that time. Only time will tell with how Mufasa The Lion King, and Sonic 3, fair at the box office.
One thing that remains clear is that while they are the next big releases, Wicked and Moana won’t have to worry about much competition. With that said, another question has been raised. How many more milestones will Wicked and Moana 2 hit at the box office. Only 2 movies have grossed a billion this year. Those being Deadpool and Wolverine, as well as Inside out 2. With the colossal openings of Moana 2, and Wicked, these movies have the potential to join the billion dollar club as well. Especially with the low projections of Sonic 3, and Mufasa The Lion King.
After Moana And Wicked, The Future Of Musicals In Hollywood Is Bright
An interesting discussion Moana 2 and Wickeds box office prompts is audiences interests in musicals. It had been suspected recently that audiences don’t like to go see musicals in the theatres. This is evident with recently Hollywood musicals trying to hide in their promotions that they are musicals. Recent remakes of The Color Purple and Mean Girls did this, as well as last Christmas Wonka movie. Recent musicals like 2019 Cats and 2021’s West Side Story showcased in their advertising that they were both musicals and both flopped. Moana 2 and Wicked’s success could give Hollywood musicals a second win with 2 openins within a week with 100 million each. Both movies even have a follow up planned within the next 2 years. Wicked is split into 2 parts, and releases its second part next November. While Disney on the other hand has a live action Moana remake coming in 2026. This could only mean the awaited announce of more Disney remakes and Broadway Musical Hollywood adaptations to come.
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