The highly anticipated Moana 2 has shattered records, earning an impressive $13.8 million in its Tuesday previews. This is the highest preview number ever for a Walt Disney Animation movie, surpassing the previous record held by Incredibles 2 from Pixar, which earned $18.5 million. It’s especially impressive given that Incredibles 2 opened in the summer, while Moana 2 launched on a Tuesday when many schools were still in session, with only 48% of schools and 20% of colleges closed, according to Disney.
The film also set a new record for the biggest Tuesday pre-Thanksgiving preview, and is expected to have a massive Thanksgiving opening. It’s predicted to earn between $125 million and $135 million over the five-day holiday weekend (Wednesday through Sunday), potentially surpassing the current Thanksgiving opening record held by Frozen ($93.6 million). Frozen II, which opened a weekend earlier than Moana 2, still holds the five-day record with $125 million.
With Moana 2 joining other big releases like Universal’s Wicked and Paramount’s Gladiator II, the overall box office for the holiday is expected to hit new heights.
Wicked, directed by Jon M. Chu, topped the charts with $16.6 million in previews, while Gladiator II, directed by Ridley Scott, earned $6.7 million.
Moana 2 had originally been planned as a TV series but was reworked into a theatrical film. The first Moana movie was a solid hit when it was released in 2016 and became a cultural phenomenon, even becoming the most streamed film across all platforms in 2023. The sequel features new songs from Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear and is produced by Christina Chen and Yvett Merino.
Directed by David Derrick Jr., Jason Hand, and Dana Ledoux Miller, Moana 2 brings back the voice cast of Auli’i Cravalho as Moana and Dwayne Johnson as Maui. The story follows Moana on a new adventure after receiving a call from her ancestors, leading her into mysterious waters.
While critics have been less kind to Moana 2 compared to the first film, the movie’s audience score on Rotten Tomatoes is strong at 89%. The critics score is currently 67%, much lower than the original’s 95%, but this doesn’t seem to be affecting interest in the movie.