Just in time for the beginning of the holiday season, November is ready to light up the box office with a slate that includes some of the year’s most anticipated titles. The Thanksgiving holiday weekend is looking particularly appetizing, with this month’s expected strong openers—Wicked, Gladiator II, and Moana 2—all available to moviegoers planning a trip to the theater as a part of their festivities.
Barbenheimer was lightning in a bottle, but if lightning can strike twice, ‘Glicked’ is certainly 2024’s best bet. According to Fandango’s latest survey, nearly 65% of moviegoers interested in seeing both Wicked and Gladiator II, saying they would like to see a “double feature” during the opening weekend in theaters. That’s on par with the Fandango survey which reported 62% of moviegoers interested in seeing both Barbie and Oppenheimer as a double feature.
Here are the biggest movies coming to theaters this November, as the box office ramps up into the Thanksgiving holiday and what promises to be a strong finish to the year.
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever | Lionsgate
November 8
Lionsgate has had a challenging year at the box office in 2024. A pair of long-delayed films—video game adaptation Borderlands and Wonder spin-off White Bird—both struggled to find an audience. Horror prequel The Strangers: Chapter 1 has been the only film in the 2024 Lionsgate slate to open above $10M. On a more positive note, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever may be the title to help end that streak. Produced by the Kingdom Story Company’s Jon and Andrew Erwin, the duo collectively known as the Erwin Brothers, and directed by Dallas Jenkins of The Chosen fame, the film is the first big screen adaptation of the 1972 Barbara Robinson children’s novel—which was previously adapted into an ABC television movie starring Loretta Swit and a young Fairuza Balk way back in 1983.
Lionsgate has had success with Erwin Brothers and The Kingdom Story Company before, with films such as 2021’s American Underdog ($5.8M domestic opening, $26.5M domestic total), 2023’s Jesus Revolution ($15.8M domestic opening, $52.1M domestic total), and this year’s Ordinary Angels ($6.1M domestic opening, $19.1M domestic total). The film tells the story of six misfit children who sign up for the local Christmas nativity play.
Heretic | A24
November 8
Two young missionaries are trapped in the house of a mysterious stranger (Hugh Grant) who attempts to test their religious faith through a series of cat-and-mouse games in the horror counter-programmer Heretic. The A24 horror title is written and directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, the writers behind A Quiet Place and the writers/directors of the Adam Driver sci-fi dino film 65. The presence of Hugh Grant may give Heretic a mainstream appeal boost, but if the flood of ‘Me on October 31st vs November 1st’ holiday memes are any indication, a post-Halloween horror release may struggle to find its audience. Searchlight Pictures’ The Menu, released to 3,000+ screens in November 2022, is perhaps a good comp here. Positive critical reception and solid word-of-mouth could give Heretic a box office trajectory in line with The Menu‘s $38.5M 2022 year-end domestic total.
Red One | MGM / Amazon Studios
November 15
Following The Best Christmas Pageant Ever is the second major holiday themed release of the month. Red One, a Christmas action comedy starring Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans, gained a much-welcome theatrical release from Amazon/MGM. Dwayne Johnson plays the North Pole’s head of security in the wake of Santa’s kidnapping. The film sees Johnson reteaming with Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle ($36.1M domestic opening, $404.5M domestic total) and Jumanji: The Next Level ($59.2M domestic opening, $316.8M domestic total) director Jake Kasdan. A family-friendly romp, Red One is aiming for family audiences eager to embrace the Christmas spirit.
Gladiator II | Paramount Pictures
November 22
Ridley Scott returns to ancient Rome with Gladiator II, the director’s follow-up to his 2000 Best Picture Oscar winner. Early reactions suggest Scott could be bringing audiences a strong crowdpleaser, one that boasts Paul Mescal leading the charge and a strong ensemble cast that includes Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal, Joseph Quinn, and Derek Jacobi. Scott’s films have been somewhat hit or miss in terms of box office in recent years: 2021’s The Last Duel ($4.7M domestic opening, $10.8M domestic total), 2021’s House of Gucci ($14.4M domestic opening, $53.8M domestic total), and last year’s Napoleon ($20.6M domestic opening, $61.5M domestic total).
Both House of Gucci and Napoleon also debuted around the Thanksgiving holiday, but unlike those films recent films, Gladiator II arrives on the reputation of its predecessor—and the 24-year gap between the two films may provide a nostalgia boost. It landed number two on Fandango’s Top 10 Most Anticipated Theatrical Movies survey of 2,000 moviegoers, one spot ahead of strong pre-seller Moana 2. As mentioned, the best outcome would be a Barbenheimer-esque counter programming boost, with moviegoers opting to see both films or with some family members choosing Gladiator II while gravity is defied a few auditoriums over.
Wicked | Universal Pictures
November 22
Setting the stage for a Thanksgiving holiday box office to rejoicify in, Wicked is the first installment of a two-part film adaptation of the hit Broadway musical. Universal has been pulling out all the marketing and merchandising stops since officially kicking things off at April’s CinemaCon, where the studio engulfed the Caesars Palace audience in a magical display of illuminating tulips. Marketing spots and promotional tie-ins have reached and perhaps surpassed Barbie-level saturation. The robust marketing push, paired with strong pre-sales and popular source material, have continued to drive up forecasting.
The film will benefit from the presence of pop superstar Ariana Grande and theater superstar Cynthia Erivo in the leading roles, coupled with the brand recognition enjoyed by The Wizard of Oz. Wicked also landed number one on Fandango’s recent Top 10 Most Anticipated Theatrical Movies survey. Adding to the event nature of the film, Fandango and E! News announced they will be joining forces to livestream the Los Angeles red carpet premiere on November 9th, while NBC will air a new behind-the-scenes primetime special, Defying Gravity: The Curtain Rises on Wicked, just three days before the movie’s wide theatrical release. The lack of a ‘Part One’ in the marketing may leave some audiences surprised as the end titles roll, but the buzz is otherwise thrillifying…
Moana 2 | Walt Disney Pictures
November 27
Disney is back to claim another Thanksgiving weekend with Moana 2, in theaters the Wednesday before the holiday. Though Moana ($248.7M domestic total) was only the fourth highest-grossing Disney animated film released in 2016—trailing March’s Zootopia ($341.2M domestic total), April’s live action/animation hybrid The Jungle Book ($364M domestic total), and December’s Finding Dory ($486.2M domestic total)—it arguably had the largest lasting cultural impact, propelled by its earworm-filled soundtrack (it was the fifth-best-selling album of the year in the U.S. and garnered an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song). The ongoing popularity of its main character, now part of the lucrative Disney princess merchandising brand, has long had a live-action remake (slated for summer 2026) in the works.
It was a pleasant industry surprise in February of this year when Disney announced that the project that began as a Disney+ series was being retooled into the theatrical sequel Moana 2, set to release some nine months later. This year’s Inside Out 2 ($154.2M domestic opening, $652.9M domestic total) helped to break the June Pixar ‘curse’ that 2022’s Lightyear ($50.5M domestic opening) began. Moana 2 already promises to do the same for the Disney Thanksgiving slot, following the lackluster $19.6M domestic opening of Disney’s Wish in 2023 and the $18.8M five-day opening of 2022’s Strange World. Strong pre-sales point the way towards a $100M+ opening weekend for Moana 2, with Fandango announcing that the ocean adventure is best first-day ticket pre-seller for an animated film released in 2024, surpassing Inside Out 2. The film will need north of $652.9M over its total run to unseat this year’s Inside Out 2 as the highest-grossing animated film of all time.
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