This year’s fall movie season has been disappointing, causing some concern in the industry. October saw the lowest ticket sales domestically since 1997 (not counting 2020), and films aimed at adult audiences weren’t performing well. While the postponement of movies like Mortal Kombat 2 and Michael played a role, the weak results were particularly worrying because the industry had hoped to see a recovery after the combined impact of the pandemic and the strikes. This raised fears that October could become a consistently slow month for movie releases.
Although it won’t be clear until next October if worries about recent film performance are justified, the Thanksgiving holiday weekend gave the industry a boost. Films collectively earned $299 million domestically, making it the third-highest Thanksgiving gross ever. Zootopia 2 was the top performer with $158 million, the second-highest Thanksgiving weekend total of all time (behind last year’s Moana 2), but several other films also did well.
Wicked: For Good continued to perform well, matching last year’s box office numbers for this time. Several other films—Now You See Me: Now You Don’t, Predator: Badlands, and The Running Man—also maintained strong viewership compared to the previous week. A24’s Eternity opened to over $5 million and is expected to play in more theaters soon. Meanwhile, Hamnet had a limited release and earned the third-highest average ticket sales per theater over the weekend, following only the top films, Zootopia 2 and Wicked: For Good.
The recent boost in movie ticket sales isn’t just because of the holidays, when people traditionally go to the cinema. It’s also because, after a slow start, Hollywood finally started releasing genuinely good films.
Thanksgiving’s Movie Slate Gave Audiences What They Wanted
There’s been a lot of discussion about why October movie attendance was so low, but I think the biggest reason is simply that the movies weren’t good enough. In the past, even average films could still draw audiences. Today, people have so many entertainment options that they quickly dismiss anything that doesn’t seem promising.
What people consider ‘good’ or ‘bad’ is subjective, but I’m focusing on whether movies give audiences what they enjoy. Often, quality and audience satisfaction go together. Looking at the top 10 movies at the box office last weekend, only three were highly rated by critics (with scores above 90% on Rotten Tomatoes). However, seven of them were well-liked by audiences, with scores above 90%. None of the films were considered ‘bad’ by either critics or audiences, though Now You See Me: Now You Don’t almost fell into that category based on critic reviews.
| Movie | Thanksgiving 5-Day Box Office | RT Critics Score | RT Audience Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zootopia 2 | $158 million | 91% | 96% |
| Wicked: For Good | $93 million | 68% | 94% |
| Now You See Me: Now You Don’t | $10 million | 61% | 81% |
| Predator: Badlands | $6.6 million | 86% | 95% |
| The Running Man | $5.5 million | 64% | 78% |
| Eternity | $5.2 million | 76% | 91% |
| Wake Up Dead Man | $4.25 million (reported) | 95% | 94% |
| Rental Family | $3 million | 86% | 96% |
| Hamnet | $1.35 million | 88% | 91% |
| Sisu: Road to Revenge | $1.2 million | 96% | 88% |
It’s tempting to say all we need for a thriving movie industry is a steady flow of well-made films. And it might actually be that simple! This weekend was a great example, offering a lot of genuinely good movies. This is important because people who enjoy their trip to the theater are more likely to come back. Plus, seeing trailers on the big screen – where they have the biggest impact – can build excitement for future releases. If this positive trend continues through the end of the year, this weekend could be a turning point.
While Thanksgiving weekend is popular, similar results could be achieved at other times of the year. To encourage people to consistently go to movie theaters, studios need to rethink their release strategies and stop treating certain months as less important. Releasing quality films throughout the year is crucial to avoid slow periods and maintain audience interest.
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2025-12-02 01:04