Moana 2 has already emerged as a behemoth in both domestic and international box offices and set several records, despite the lukewarm responses from the critics. The movie had its global premiere on November 21, 2024, at the Lanikuhonua Cultural Institute in Kapolei, Hawaii before debuting in US theaters for Thanksgiving weekend on November 27.
Moana 2 box office opens with $221 million for Thanksgiving weekend
Moana 2 has made $221 million in the domestic box office over the past five days, receiving the biggest-ever box-office opening for a Thanksgiving weekend release and a Disney animation movie. Internationally, the movie has accumulated $165.3 million as of Sunday, December 1. Moana 2 earned $16.6 million in Tuesday night previews and $57 million on Wednesday before making a record-breaking $28 million on Thanksgiving. The movie then proceeded to make $135.5 million in the next three days. To compare, the first Moana movie grossed $248.7 million domestically and $438.4 million in overseas markets. If the current trends hold, the sequel will soon surpass the commercial performance of its predecessor in the US and Canada.
Powered by this unprecedented performance, Moana 2 chartered at the top of the box office, outperforming Wicked ($80 million) and Gladiator II ($30.7 million). In a statement, Alan Bergman, the co-chairman of Disney Entertainment noted that the success of Moana 2 underscored how popular Moana is.
“Moana 2 has far surpassed our high expectations this weekend and is a testament to the phenomenon that ‘Moana’ has become,” Bergman said (via The Hollywood Reporter). “We’re fortunate to have an incredibly talented and hard-working creative team at Disney Animation who brought this new adventure to life, alongside our wonderful stars Auli’i and Dwayne and great new music. This is a moment to celebrate, and we’re thankful to all the moviegoers and fans who’ve helped make this a record-breaking debut.”
Notably, the project was initially conceptualized as a Disney+ series before it became a theatrical sequel.
