With a combined $270 million in worldwide ticket sales, and breathed fresh life into a box office that has , leading to one of the busiest moviegoing weekends of the year.

91裸聊视频淲icked,91裸聊视频� starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, debuted with $114 million domestically and $164.2 million globally for Universal Pictures, according to studio estimates Sunday. That made it the third-biggest opening weekend of the year, behind only and It91裸聊视频檚 also a record for a Broadway musical adaptation.

a sequel to his 2000 best picture-winning original, launched with $55.5 million in ticket sales. With a price tag of around $250 million to produce it, 91裸聊视频淕ladiator II91裸聊视频� was a big bet by Paramount Pictures to return to the Colosseum with a largely new cast, led by Denzel Washington and Paul Mescal. While it opened with a touch less than the $60 million predicted in domestic ticket sales, 91裸聊视频淕ladiator II91裸聊视频� has performed well overseas. It added $50.5 million internationally.

The collision of the two movies led to some echoes of the effect of last year, when 91裸聊视频淏arbie91裸聊视频� and 91裸聊视频淥ppenheimer91裸聊视频� launched simultaneously. The nickname this time, wasn91裸聊视频檛 quite as catchy and the cultural imprint also was notably less. Few people this time. The domestic grosses in 2023 91裸聊视频� $162 million for 91裸聊视频淏arbie91裸聊视频� and $82 million for 91裸聊视频淥ppenheimer91裸聊视频� 91裸聊视频� also were higher.

91裸聊视频淕licked91裸聊视频� falls short of 91裸聊视频淏补谤产别苍丑别颈尘别谤91裸聊视频�

For Universal, which distributed 91裸聊视频淥ppenheimer91裸聊视频� last year, the weekend was more a triumph of 91裸聊视频淲颈肠办别诲91裸聊视频� than it was of 91裸聊视频淕licked.91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频淲e saw an opportunity to dominate a weekend and get a very large running start into the Thanksgiving holiday,91裸聊视频� said Jim Orr, distribution chief for Universal. 91裸聊视频淲e91裸聊视频檙e very confident that it will play ridiculously well through the Christmas corridor and into the new year.91裸聊视频�

But the counter-programming effect was still potent for 91裸聊视频淲颈肠办别诲91裸聊视频� and 91裸聊视频淕ladiator II,91裸聊视频� which likewise split broadly along gender lines. And it was again the female-leaning release 91裸聊视频� 91裸聊视频淲icked,91裸聊视频� like 91裸聊视频淏arbie91裸聊视频� before it 91裸聊视频� that easily won the weekend. About 72% of ticket buyers for 91裸聊视频淲颈肠办别诲91裸聊视频� were female, while 61% of those seeing 91裸聊视频淕ladiator II91裸聊视频� were male.

91裸聊视频淪tanding on their own, each of these movies may have done pretty much what they did, but it91裸聊视频檚 hard to know,91裸聊视频� said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore. 91裸聊视频淩aising awareness can indeed lead to an increase in box office. Let91裸聊视频檚 put it this way: They didn91裸聊视频檛 hurt each other at all.91裸聊视频�

Massive marketing campaigns paved the way for opening weekend

While 91裸聊视频淏补谤产别苍丑别颈尘别谤91裸聊视频� benefitted enormously from meme-spread word-of-mouth, both 91裸聊视频淲颈肠办别诲91裸聊视频� and 91裸聊视频淕ladiator II91裸聊视频� leaned on all-out marketing blitzes.

The 91裸聊视频淕ladiator II91裸聊视频� campaign featured everything from a with the actual Colosseum in Rome to simultaneously running a one-minute trailer on more than 4,000 TV networks, radio station and digital platforms.

The 91裸聊视频淲颈肠办别诲91裸聊视频� onslaught went even further, with pink and green themed 91裸聊视频淲ickedly Delicious91裸聊视频� Starbucks drinks, Stanley mugs and Mattel dolls (some of which led to ). Its stars made appearances at the Met Gala and the Olympics.

91裸聊视频淲e had roughly 400 global brand partners on 91裸聊视频榃icked,91裸聊视频� so the campaign was inescapable, said Orr. 91裸聊视频淎nd our cast, led by Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, worked so hard on this. They were everywhere. They did everything we asked them to do.91裸聊视频�

Going into the weekend, box office was down about 11% from last year and some 25% from pre-pandemic times. That meant this week91裸聊视频檚 two headline films led a much-needed resurgence for theaters. With releasing Wednesday, Hollywood might be looking at historic sales over the Thanksgiving holiday.

The two films boosted sluggish box office performance

91裸聊视频淭his weekend91裸聊视频檚 two strong openers are invigorating a box office that fell apart after a good summer,91裸聊视频� said David A. Gross, a film consultant who publishes a newsletter for Franchise Entertainment.

Though 91裸聊视频淲颈肠办别诲91裸聊视频� will face some direct competition from 91裸聊视频淢oana 2,91裸聊视频� it would seem better set up for a long and lucrative run in theaters than 91裸聊视频淕ladiator II.91裸聊视频� Though some have dinged 91裸聊视频淲颈肠办别诲91裸聊视频� for running long, at 2 hours and 40 minutes, the film has had mostly stellar reviews. Audiences gave it an 91裸聊视频淎91裸聊视频� on CinemaScore. The reception for 91裸聊视频淲颈肠办别诲91裸聊视频� has been strong enough that Oscar prognosticators expect it to be a contender for best picture at the Academy Awards, among other categories.

Producers, perhaps sensing a hit, also took the step of splitting 91裸聊视频淲颈肠办别诲91裸聊视频� in two. Part two, already filmed, is due out next November. Each 91裸聊视频淲颈肠办别诲91裸聊视频� installation cost around $150 million to make.

91裸聊视频淕ladiator II91裸聊视频� has also enjoyed good reviews, particularly for Washington91裸聊视频檚 charismatic performance. Audience scores, though, were weaker, with ticket buyers giving it a 91裸聊视频淏91裸聊视频� on CinemaScore. The film will make up for some of that, however, with robust international sales. It launched in many overseas markets a week ago, and has already accrued $165.5 million internationally.

Coming in a distant third place for the weekend was 91裸聊视频淩ed One,91裸聊视频� the Dwayne Johnson, Chris Evans holiday movie turned action film. In its second week of release, the Amazon MGM Studios release grossed $13.3 million to bring its two-week global haul to $117 million. At a cost of $250 million to make, 91裸聊视频淩ed One91裸聊视频� is the season91裸聊视频檚 biggest flop, though it could recoup some value for Amazon if it91裸聊视频檚 more popular once it begins streaming.

Final domestic figures will be released Monday. Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore:

1. 91裸聊视频淲icked,91裸聊视频� $114 million.

2. 91裸聊视频淕ladiator II,91裸聊视频� $55.5 million.

3. 91裸聊视频淩ed One,91裸聊视频� $13.3 million.

4. 91裸聊视频淏onhoeffer: Pastor Spy Assassin,91裸聊视频� $5.1 million.

5. 91裸聊视频淰enom: The Last Dance,91裸聊视频� $4 million.

6. 91裸聊视频淭he Best Christmas Pageant Ever,91裸聊视频� $3.5 million.

7. 91裸聊视频淗eretic,91裸聊视频� $2.2 million.

8. 91裸聊视频淭he Wild Robot,91裸聊视频� $2 million.

9. 91裸聊视频淪mile 2,91裸聊视频� $1.1 million.

10. 91裸聊视频淎 Real Pain,91裸聊视频� $1.1 million.