Moana 2is already a box office success following its massive $386 million opening. The firstMoanawas a critical and commercial hit and has continued to be popular since its 2016 release. This naturally led to a sequel, althoughMoana 2was originally a Disney+ show. Disney CEO Bob Iger explained thatMoana 2transformed out of a Disney+ show as he and other studio executives were impressed by early footage and thought it deserved a theatrical release.
Iger and other Disney executives were also confident inMoana 2as the original movie had been watched for over 1 billion hours on Disney+ and was streamed more than any movie on all streaming platforms in 2023. That confidence has paid off givenMoana 2’s record-breaking box officedebut, which is even more impressive alongsideWickedandGladiator II’s box office battle.Moana 2has already shattered numerous recordsand is poised to break even more as the sequel’s theatrical run continues.
How Moana 2 Made $386 Million Worldwide In Its Box Office Opening
High Anticipation And An Ideal Release Date Worked Well
In its five-day opening period,Moana 2grossed $386 million worldwide, including $221 domestically and $165 internationally(viaBox Office Mojo). The sequel debuted in theaters on November 27, the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. While the family-friendly sequel would likely have performed well at any time of the year, the domestic box office had the advantage of the movie releasing during a long weekend when children were on Thanksgiving break and many adults were off from work.Moana 2was the perfect movie for families and individuals of all ages to see during Thanksgiving weekend.
Moana 2 Ending Explained: What Happens To Moana & How It Sets Up Moana 3
Moana 2’s ending sets the stage for the franchise to grow even more expansive and gives the titular Wayfinder an unexpected new direction.
The original movie’s popularity in 2016 and the extensive viewership on Disney+ continued to be prevalent and translated into a high number of viewers going to see the sequel in theaters during opening week. This success was previously indicated to happen byMoana 2’s ticket pre-sales, which, by October 30, were already the highest of any 2024 animated movie, almost a full month before the movie’s release.Moanais also popular with both domestic and international audiences, which is affirmed by the respective box office results.
Every Box Office Record Moana 2’s Opening Weekend Broke
The Sequel Broke Domestic, International, And Worldwide Records
As perDisney and Comscore(viaThe Hollywood Reporter),Moana 2’s $221 million domestic opening marks an all-time best five-day debut and the biggest five-day Thanksgiving earner of all time, which includes movies that were in theaters prior to Thanksgiving weekend. The latter record was held byFrozen IIat $125 million, which is easily exceeded byMoana 2’s $221 million. Even more impressive isMoana 2having the biggest Thanksgiving nationwide opening ever as it quickly eclipsed the originalFrozen’s $93.6 million.
$221 million
$93.6 million
$84.8 million
$80.1 million
Coco(2017)
$72.9 million
Moana 2had the biggest global opening ever for an animated movie, the biggest Black Friday gross of all time, the biggest Thanksgiving Day gross of all time, and the biggest opening day gross for a Disney animated movie.Frozen IIwas surpassed in all five of these categories, except for the biggest global opening of an animated movie. In international markets,Moana 2had the best opening of all time for an animated movie in France, the second biggest in Italy and Brazil, and the best ever for a Disney animated movie in the Latin American region.
Moana 2’s Worldwide Opening Beat The Super Mario Bros. Movie’s Record
The Super Mario Bros. Movie’s Success Came At A Worrisome Time For Disney
Prior toMoana 2,The Super Mario Bros. Movieheld the record for the biggest worldwide opening of an animated movie at $377 million.The Super Mario Bros. Movieclinched this title in April 2023, at a time when Disney’s animated movies were struggling at the box office following the financial disappointments ofLightyearandStrange Worldin 2022. It isa major triumph for an animated Disney movie to have now dethronedThe Super Mario Bros. Moviefrom this record.
WhileMoana 2breaking records held byFrozenandFrozen IIis impressive, it is arguably more important for Disney’s newest animated movie to have outperformed the competition from other studios.
In addition to previously having the biggest global opening for an animated movie,The Super Mario Bros. Moviehad the biggest five-day domestic debut record at $204 million. WhileMoana 2breaking records held byFrozenandFrozen IIis impressive, it is arguably more important for Disney’s newest animated movie to have outperformed the competition from other studios. It will be intriguing to see how many otherThe Super Mario Bros.Movie’s box office milestones can be surpassed byMoana 2.
How Moana 2’s 3-Day Opening Weekend Compares To Inside Out 2 & Other Disney Animated Movies
2024 Has Been A Stellar Year For Disney Animated Movies
Moana 2’s opening success comes on the heels ofInside Out 2, which is the highest grossing movie of 2024 and the eighth highest grossing movie of all time with $1.7 billion earned worldwide (viaBox Office Mojo).Moana 2’s three-day opening weekend came to $139.7 million. This is belowInside Out 2’s three-day opening record of $155 million, which helped theDisney Pixar sequelbecome the top-earning movie of 2024 and among the top 10 of all time.
Inside Out 2is also the highest grossing animated movie of all time.
$139.7 million does exceedFrozen II’s $130 million opening.BeforeMoana 2,Frozen IIhad been the last Disney animated movie released at Thanksgiving to be a box office success, asEncanto,Strange World, andWishstruggled to meet the studio’s box office expectations.Moana 2crushed these three movies' respective openings of $27 million, $12 million, and $19.5 million. In the same year asFrozen II, Disney had another animated box office hit with Pixar’sToy Story 4, whose $118 million is now beaten byMoana 2.
How Moana 2’s Box Office Compares To The First Movie So Far
The Sequel Is Already Closing In On The First Movie’s Numbers
As a sequel featuring beloved characters,Moana 2was already a known quantity, and therefore had a bigger box office opening thanMoana, which opened to $56.6 million. The first movie went on to make an impressive $248.7 domestically, $394.6 internationally, and $643.3 million worldwide. Meanwhile,Moana 2’s$386 million is already more than half ofMoana’s total gross.Moana 2will definitely surpassMoana’s global earnings, and it will probably not take long for that to happen.
Moana 2’s Post-Credits Scene Explained
Moana 2 includes a mid-credits scene that audiences can’t miss, as the post-credits scene sets up what’s next for Moana and Maui in Moana 3.
The same applies to comparisons of the domestic and international grosses for the first and second movies.Moana 2’s $221 million domestic opening is swiftly closing in on the original movie’s $248.7 total. The $165 million international opening will take more time, but not that long, to catch up to the predecessor’s $394.6 million.Moana 2’s box office will end up being substantially bigger thanMoana, which raises the bar for the all-but-confirmedrelease ofMoana 3.
Will Moana 2 Make $1 Billion At The Box Office & Can It Beat Inside Out 2’s Record?
Beating Inside Out 2’s Record Is A Tall Order
After making $386 million in five days, there islittle doubt thatMoana 2will make at least $1 billion at the worldwide box office. The family-friendly appeal should help the sequel continue to do well in the coming weeks and throughout the holiday period. On December 20, the releases ofMufasa: The Lion KingandSonic the Hedgehog 3will provide some new competition, butMoana 2should still have legs at the box office that will carry it through December and into January.
Moana 2is not guaranteed to matchInside Out 2’s numbers, but the latest Disney animated movie is already an undeniable box office success.
As for whetherMoana 2can beatInside Out 2’s $1.7 billion record, that is less certain. One way that Disney can try to make this happen is by not makingMoana 2available to stream on Disney+ until 100 days after release. The long-term theatrical exclusivity helped sustainInside Out 2’s box office.Moana 2is not guaranteed to matchInside Out 2’s numbers, but the latest Disney animated movie is already an undeniable box office success.
Moana 2
Cast
Moana 2 is the sequel to the 2016 animated film Moana. Directed by David G. Derrick Jr., Jason Hand, and Dana Ledoux Miller, the film continues the journey of Moana as she embarks on new adventures, exploring the vast Pacific Ocean while encountering new characters and challenges along the way.
