Hollywood Premieres Score Strong Box Office Sales

Hollywood’s two holiday blockbusters, Wicked and Gladiator II, raked in $170 million in domestic box office sales during their opening weekends, according to Comscore estimates.

Wicked, distributed by Comcast-owned Universal, led the weekend with $114 million in domestic sales. I Photo: Wicked Movie Facebook

However, studios are still recovering from last year’s strike-related production delays, Liz Moyer and Mackenzie Tatananni reported for Barron’s Daily.

Wicked, distributed by Comcast-owned Universal, led the weekend with $114 million in domestic sales, while Paramount’s Gladiator II brought in $55.5 million. Studios had hoped to replicate the success of summer 2023’s “Barbenheimer,” when Barbie and Oppenheimer drew massive crowds.

Strike-related delays have impacted Hollywood’s recovery. As of Sunday, domestic box office sales for the year totaled $7.3 billion, down 10.7% from 2023, according to Comscore.

Globally, Wicked was the top performer, with an estimated $164.2 million in sales. Meanwhile, Gladiator II set a record for the biggest domestic November opening for an R-rated film, with a worldwide gross of $221 million.

Next up is Walt Disney’s animated Moana 2, slated for release on Wednesday. It is projected to surpass $100 million in its opening weekend.

Movie theater chains such as AMC Entertainment and Cinemark are hoping the diverse lineup of films—from musicals to action and animation—will boost investor optimism for the industry heading into 2025 and 2026, according to B. Riley analyst Eric Wold.