Newcomers fail to stave off momentum of musical juggernauts

By: Chad W. Shreeves

Another weekend, another true dominance by Disney heavyweight Moana 2 and Universal’s musical epic Wicked. Despite a superhero spinoff and an animated prequel to one of the biggest franchises of all time, audiences chose to flock back this weekend for second helpings of the two musicals.

The Week That Was

Moana 2 continued Disney’s box office reign this year, following last week’s massive success. While it’s beginning to run out of steam, it still brought in $26.6 million this weekend to take the top spot. The animated sequel now sits at over $717 million worldwide and is continuing to climb.

Hot on its heals is Wicked. The Broadway adaptation that has managed to smash all sorts of records has continued its run with another tallied $22.5 million. The Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande-led musical still proves audiences want this film, as it’s been taking smaller and smaller than expected drops every weekend. It now sits at $524 million worldwide. With highly anticipated Sing Along screenings occurring next week, that box office number could continue to climb.

In third is the first new release of the week, Kraven the Hunter. An already critically maligned film, sitting at 15%, the movie only managed to bring in $11 million, which is even shorter than its already meager projections. The Sony Spider-Man spinoff seems to be doing a little better with audiences at 72%, but still managed to bring in tickets.

Ridley Scott’s historical epic Gladiator II is chugging along in fourth. With an estimated $7.8 million, the gore soaked film still proves its counterprogramming with lighter fare Moana and Wicked is working in its fourth weekend. The film has now gone on to $398 million worldwide, which is starting to encroach on the original film’s $465 million total gross.

Lastly, Warner’s anime-inspired prequel Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrim fell flat with $4.6 million. The film had already begun to face weaking projections in the weeks leading up to it, but failed to gain any sort of foothold. The film does seem to be doing slightly better with critics at 51% and the few audiences that are seeing it are generally enjoying it at 83%. This Peter Jackson produced animated film still falls fall short of what is expected of such a historic franchise.

The Week Ahead

Next week sees two potential box office heavyweights. Both Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Mufasa: The Lion King, will be competing for the top spot. Boxofficepro seems to have Sonic projected a little bit higher, with an estimated $65-85 million as opposed to Mufasa’s $45-65 million.

This all leads into the Christmas season where Nosferatu, Babygirl, and A Complete Unknown will all be jumping into the mix. Until then, it’s Moana’s world.

Box office results sourced from Box Office Mojo.