The one-two punch of moviegoing excitement created by the ‘Glicked’ (“Gladiator II” and Wicked”) same-day release marketing hook followed by “Moana 2” the day before Thanksgiving was an unbeatable combination that has now carried over into December, creating moviegoing momentum that will take it through to the end of the year.

The planets aligned perfectly for movie theatres over the Thanksgiving holiday with a combination of films programmed to deliver massive box office revenue that was supercharged by the “Glicked” phenomenon and followed strongly by “Moana 2.”

It’s a combination that will serve as the blueprint to prove how a rising box office tide can indeed raise all ships by virtue of having three high profile blockbusters in the mix at once, all pulling in the same direction to great effect.

The timing couldn’t have been better. This perfect storm of Thanksgiving box office, powered by a trio of films from the musical, epic drama, and family film genres, arrived at the most advantageous moment to reinvigorate the theatrical marketplace after a post-summer malaise.

Before the Thanksgiving holiday, the 2024 domestic box office was down 10.6% compared to the previous year’s numbers as of Sunday November 24th, but now, it’s just 5.2% behind through December 8th according to data from Comscore. In fact, in just 17 days running from the Friday, November 22 debuts of “Wicked” and “Gladiator II” through and including the record $425 million Thanksgiving frame and the weekend of December 6-8th, the domestic box office generated a whopping $886 million in revenue, with the top film “Wicked” amassing a staggering $322.1M in that period.

The comparable 17-day period in 2023 (Fri. Nov. 17th h – Sun. Dec. 3rd) took in $447 million with the top film “Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes” bringing in $121 million. Even more impressive is the box office rebound since mid-June of this year, when prior to the $154.2 million domestic debut of “Inside Out 2” the YTD deficit vs. 2023 was 27.5%

This has now set up a December to remember for studios, movie theatres and audiences with a nonstop slate of notable releases such as the R-rated "Kraven The Hunter,” the PG13 animated "Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim" and the awards season contender “Nickel Boys” (all being released on Dec. 13th) followed by the irresistible family film duo of "Sonic The Hedgehog 3" and "Mufasa: The Lion King" (both being released on Dec. 20th) that will take the year out on a high note! 

Look out for the Christmas Bonus: Christmas Day is shaping up as an indie film fans dream with Robert Eggers "Nosferatu," the Bob Dylan biopic with Timothée Chalamet "A Complete Unknown" and A24's "Babygirl" with Nicole Kidman, all hitting theatres on that day.

To wrap it up and put a bow on it, we’re hitting our stride in terms of the cadence and frequency of movies now and into the new year. It bodes well for 2025, which should be a particularly great year for movie theaters. Looking even further ahead at future expected releases proves this will be no flash in the pan, 2026 looks like an absolute monster! The future is bright for consumers to keep flocking to their local movie theatres for the latest releases.

*(W-Sun)