Thanksgiving 5-Day US Box Office Sets Record At $420M; AMC CEO Calls Moviegoer Surge A “National Phenomenon” 

Paul Dergarabedian, a media analyst for Comscore, revealed on X on Sunday afternoon that US domestic box offices set a record, raking in $420 million over the five-day Thanksgiving holiday period. According to Deadline, Disney’s Moana sequel was the most popular movie, attracting 17.4 million admissions,  Universal’s Wicked with 8.7 million viewers, and Paramount’s Gladiator II drew 3.3 million from Wednesday through Sunday. 

Dergarabedian said Comscore reports “a monumental Thanksgiving weekend (and week) for movie theatres!”

He noted that “this weekend’s overall total estimated 3-day Domestic box office is around $272M (5-day at an estimated $420M) & YTD 2024 (now at $7.781B through Sunday) is down now just 6.4% vs. 2023, Note: a week ago Sunday the YTD deficit was at 10.6%!” 

.@Comscore @csMoviesUS @CSGlobalMovies reports a monumental #Thanksgiving weekend (and week) for movie theatres! Please note this weekend’s overall total estimated 3-day Domestic box office is around $272M (5-day at an estimated $420M) & YTD 2024 (now at $7.781B through Sunday)… pic.twitter.com/KwJHCJrhxy

— Paul Dergarabedian (@PDergarabedian) December 1, 2024

X user Tony Denaro posted that the top ten grossing flicks for the five-day period hit new records.

“Press reporting that Americans are pouring into movie theatres this holiday weekend for Moana 2, Wicked and Gladiator II,” AMC Entertainment Holdings CEO Adam Aron wrote on X. 

He noted, “So many appealing movies in theatres. Smaller titles too like Red One, Conclave and Juror #2. Be part of a national phenomenon.” 

Press reporting that Americans are pouring into movie theatres this holiday weekend for Moana 2, Wicked and Gladiator II. So many appealing movies in theatres. Smaller titles too like Red One, Conclave and Juror #2. Be part of a national phenomenon. Catch a flick at AMC! pic.twitter.com/yAYnCgov8d

— Adam Aron (@CEOAdam) November 30, 2024

For nearly a week, we have reported on the surge of moviegoers attending AMC’s theaters nationwide…

• ‘Meme’ Stock AMC Reports Pre-Thanksgiving Revenue Record

• Moana, Wicked, Gladiator II Set To Shatter Thanksgiving Box Office Records

Shares of AMC closed around the $5 handle on Friday. 

Bloomberg data shows 13.3% of the float is short, or about 49.8 million shares. 

Going to the theaters is apparently back. 

movies are back pic.twitter.com/nADx10i2eE

— legotrillermoth (@legotrillermoth) November 29, 2024

Any AMC rally on this news should be approached with caution, as the company is burdened by $4 billion in long-term debt and hefty interest payments. This may only suggest that CEO Aron might hit equity markets on any significant pop.