Friday Box Office: 'Moana 2,' 'Wicked' and 'Best Christmas Pageant' Notch Milestones As 'Interstellar' Nears $200 Million

While Hollywood waits for 'Sonic the Hedgehog 3' and 'Mufasa: The Lion King'...

In Friday box office news unrelated to Kraven or The War of the Rohirrim…

Moana 2 was at the top again on Friday, and for the weekend, even while Wicked Part One has been outearning the Disney animated sequel during the weekdays. The toon earned $6.05 million (-48%) on Friday, bringing its 15-day domestic total to $317 million. That puts it above every non-Pixar Disney toon aside from Frozen II, Frozen, and The Lion King (sans inflation, obviously) and also above the $310 million inflation-adjusted domestic total ($248 million in 2016) of the first Moana.

We’re looking at a $27 million (-47%) third weekend and a $337 million 17-day total. Fun fact: Once it passes the inflation-adjusted $363.1 million total for Tarzan ($171 million in 1999), it will have sold more tickets than any post-1960s, non-Pixar Disney toon aside from Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King, and the Frozen movies.

Not to be outdone, Universal’s Wicked Part One earned another $5.82 million (-39%) to bring its total to $342 million in 25 days. It has passed Universal’s own Oppenheimer ($330 million in 2023) to become the biggest non-sequel domestic earner since Barbie ($636 million). The musical fantasy will earn $22.3 million (-39%) in its fourth weekend for a $359 million 24-day domestic total.

It’ll then be the sixth biggest musical ever, behind Frozen ($400 million in 2013), The Lion King ($424 million counting reissues), Frozen II ($477 million in 2019), Beauty and the Beast ($504 million in 2017), and The Lion King ($543 million in 2019). Oh god, if Wicked Part One passes $505 million but ends up below $544 million, we’re going to have to relitigate the whole “Is the 2019 Lion King live-action?” discourse all over again!

Gladiator II earned $2.2 million (-39%) on Friday for a likely $7.8 million (-38%) weekend. That will give Ridley Scott’s $250 million legacy sequel a $146 million 24-day domestic total, keeping pace with Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig’s various November-release James Bond flicks. Presuming a continued 36/64 domestic/overseas split, Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, and Denzel Washington’s action melodrama should end the weekend with $405 million worldwide.

Again, budget notwithstanding, that’s not bad for an R-rated, non-fantastical, adult-skewing period action film. Less impressive is Red One, which earned $1.2 million (-30%) on Friday for a $4.8 million (-32%) weekend and a $93 million 31-day total. Yes, it’ll pass $100 million domestically, but at under $200 million worldwide, this would be a whiff even if it were a 2010s-era $110 million-budgeted Dwayne Johnson vehicle.

Chris Nolan’s Interstellar earned $990,000 (-28%) on Friday in just 321 (mostly PLF) theaters. That sets the stage for a $3.3 million (-28%) weekend and a $12 million domestic total for this current re-release. That should push the $165 million sci-fi original, which earned $188 million from a $49 million debut in 2014, past the $200 million milestone.

That will put it alongside Gravity ($274 million in 2013), Nolan’s own Inception ($292 million in 2010), and Avatar ($760 million in 2009) as the only “not based on anything, not even history” live-action originals to crack the $200 million mark over the last 15 years. Pushpa: The Rule - Part 2 earned $460,000 (-71%) on Friday for a $1.5 million (-70%) weekend and a $13.05 million 11-day domestic total. Par for the course for most Indian epics, natch.

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever grossed $380,000 (-11%) on Friday for a likely $1.35 million (-10%) weekend and a $36.7 million 38-day total. That puts it past The Strangers: Chapter 1 ($36 million) as Lionsgate’s top domestic earner of 2024, if only by default. Still, success is success, and again, what conventional wisdom says makes money (The Crow) isn’t always what makes money (The Best Christmas Pageant Ever).

A24’s Y2K will earn $720,000 (-65%) in weekend two for a $3.7 million ten-day total. their Queer will earn $560,000 (+34%) while expanding to 478 theaters in weekend three. The Daniel Craig-starring same-sex romantic drama will have an okay $1.64 million 17-day total. Flow will earn $271,000 (-50%) in weekend four for a still-great-for-Janus Films $1.22 million 24-day domestic total.

In platform debut news, Paramount’s very good September 5 earned $25,000 in seven theaters for a likely $60,000 opening weekend. The docudrama, which retells the 1972 Munich Olympic massacre from the point of view of the sports journalists covering it live, was noteworthy as Paramount decided to hold onto domestic distribution rights themselves rather than sell them elsewhere. In a skewed irony, they already have a likely Oscar biggie in Gladiator II.

Amazon MGM Studios’ terrific Nickel Boys earned around $20,000 in a two-screen debut for what should be a $55,000 opening weekend before it expands accordingly. The total for the weekend should be around $90 million, up 13% from last year ($80 million, with Wonka contributing $38 million) and down 24% from 2019 ($119 million, with Jumanji 3 opening to $60 million).