'Moana 2' sails to Thanksgiving record with smash N. America opening

"Moana 2," the sequel to the animated Disney musical about a spunky Polynesian teenager who embarks on seafaring adventures, scored a sensational and record $220 million opening over the long Thanksgiving weekend in North America.

Universal's "Wicked: Part I," the latest offshoot of the classic "Wizard of Oz," raked in $117 million in its second week in theatres over the Wednesday through Sunday US holiday stretch, for a total so far of $262 million, according to industry group Exhibitor Relations.

In third place the other hotly awaited release of the holiday season, Paramount's "Gladiator II" chalked up five-day revenue of $44 million for a two-week total of $111 million, the organization said.

But it was "Moana 2" that shattered expectations as it posted the biggest Thanksgiving start ever, said analyst David A. Gross.

Gross said the movie did much better than the three-day start of the first "Moana" in 2016, despite the sequel having almost never made it to theatres.

It was originally envisioned as a direct-to-Disney+ streaming production before it was shifted to a theatrical release early this year.

"Smart decision. These are gigantic numbers," Gross said.

In the new instalment of the Pixar hit, the title character, voiced by Auli'i Cravalho, teams up with an unlikely crew and travels the far seas of Oceania to break the curse of an evil god who sank a mystical island that connected other islands.

She gets help from a once-mighty demigod called Maui, who is voiced by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.

After a few slack months, the US holiday provided a great week for the North American box office.

This Thanksgiving delivered a record-breaking estimated total of $422 million, Exhibitor Relations said.

Last week, "Wicked" scored one of the biggest openings ever for a big-screen musical, according to The Hollywood Reporter -- good news for the film's investors, with "Wicked: Part 2" set to be released next year.

Critics say Cynthia Erivo has a showstopping turn as green-skinned heroine Elphaba, while pop music star Ariana Grande, another vocal powerhouse, plays fellow witch Glinda.

In "Gladiator II" Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Connie Nielsen and a delightfully evil Denzel Washington star in a story set in ancient Rome years after the original film.

Durable director Ridley Scott weaves a tale of ruthless ambition and retribution, spicing up the original by bringing sharks, baboons and a rhinoceros into the blood-soaked arena.

Dropping one notch to fourth place this time was the Christmas comedy "Red One" from Amazon and MGM, earning $18.7 million in revenue. Here Johnson plays a North Pole security officer trying to find a kidnapped Santa Claus (J.K. Simmons) on Christmas Eve.

Fifth place went to "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever" from Lionsgate with a five-day box office take of $4.9 million. It tells the story of six notoriously naughty siblings who by accident win the lead roles in their town's Christmas pageant.

Rounding out the top 10 were:

"Bonhoeffer" ($3.2 million)

"Venom: the Last Dance" ($3.1 million)

"The Wild Robot" ($1 million)

"Heretic" ($957,000)

"A Real Pain" ($900,000)