It’s looking like Disney will make a big comeback at the Thanksgiving box office: Their Moana 2 trailer which dropped Wednesday has become the studio’s most watched ever for an animated movie, clocking 178M views in 24 hours.
That traffic sails by previous record holders Inside Out 2 (157MM) and Frozen 2 (116MM).
The figure also comes in above Pixar’s Incredibles 2 (113MM).
Views are solely from online across TikTok, YouTube, X, Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat. There were very positive reactions for the animation, love of the original film and character fanship. Moana, Maui, and Pua were standout characters with audiences calling out how Moana is one of their favorite Disney characters of all-time. All this is very good considering this was a project originally conceived as a Disney+ series that the studio flipped to the big screen.
Pic is directed by David Derrick Jr., Jason Hand, and Dana Ledoux Miller, and produced by Christina Chen and Yvett Merino, Moana 2 features music by Grammy winners Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear, Grammy nominee Opetaia Foaʻi, and three-time Grammy winner Mark Mancina.
In the sequel, after receiving an unexpected call from her wayfinding ancestors, Moana must journey to the far seas of Oceania and into dangerous, long-lost waters for an adventure unlike anything she’s ever faced. Dwyane Johnson reprises the voice of demigod Maui, while Auli’i Cravalho is back as the voice of the title role.
As a testament to the love for Moana’s story and characters, the original film, which came out in 2016, was the most streamed movie across all platforms in 2023, per Nielsen.
Moana 2 hits theaters on Nov. 27.
