Again though, the December lineup is looking unusually barren for "big" wide-release studio titles this year. The next weekend that has anything large-scale on offer after Thanksgiving break is December 13th between Kraven the Hunter and The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, both of which are big question marks given how poorly superhero films have been doing of late (unless like Deadpool & Wolverine they bring really really big names back, and as The Flash proved, sometimes not even then) and the potentially niche appeal of an anime adaptation of LOTR supplementary material. The weekend after that is the showdown between Mufasa: The Lion King and Sonic the Hedgehog 3. Over Christmas itself, it's mostly awards bait; probably the one mass-appeal title is Nosferatu?
So if Gladiator II is good, it can probably manage decent holds from week to week for a while, especially if one or more of those above titles whiff. As for estimates on how well Wicked Part One can do, well, people aren't on holiday break just yet, there may well be anxiety over it being a part one and how audiences will feel about that, and it's definitely a female-skewing property. A lot will depend on how good walk-up business is, and what the word-of-mouth is from those who get to it first, things that Moana 2 probably doesn't have to worry about. If Wicked gets a good response, that could be a tipping point for strong holds in subsequent weekends - families who might not have thought about it will check it out, etc. It could also easily handle "overflow" crowds from Moana 2.
Edit: Also, Gladiator II has premium/large format nighttime screenings to itself until Kraven the Hunter, while first Wicked and then Moana 2 get matinees, at least in IMAX.
