Walt Disney Animation’s Moana 2 is sailing toward a record-shattering $125 million-$135 million opening over the five-day Thanksgiving holiday corridor, according to tracking data shared with The Hollywood Reporter.
The sequel opens Nov. 27, a Wednesday. The long holiday weekend is one of the most lucrative times of the year in terms of moviegoing, and this year’s feast is shaping up to be a bonanza, between Moana 2, Paramount’s Gladiator II and Universal’s musical spectacle Wicked. The latter two tentpoles unfurl Nov. 22 in order to get a jump on the holiday, and are likewise tracking to strong numbers, potentially meaning that holiday revenue could hit an all-time high, led by Moana 2. That’s welcome news for struggling theater owners; this week AMC Theatres chief Adam Aron said Moana 2 could be bigger than Pixar/Disney’s Inside Out 2.
If tracking data from NRG and MarketCast is right, Moana 2 will score the top five-day Thanksgiving debut of all time at the domestic box office, a record currently held by fellow Disney Animation’s Frozen ($93.6 million), as well as biggest five-day Thanksgiving gross of all time, not adjusted for inflation. Frozen II, which opened the weekend before the holiday, versus midweek, currently holds that record with $125 million in ticket sales. (Long-lead tracking service The Quorum has been suggesting a $100 million debut for Moana 2.)
The first Moana also opened on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and scored a five-day domestic debut of $82.1 million, including $56 million for the three-day weekend. As a testament to its enduring popularity, the original film, which came out in 2016 and grossed north of $687 million globally, was the most streamed movie across all platforms in 2023, per Nielsen. There’s also a live-action Moana movie starring Johnson that’s currently shooting.
Moana 2 was originally developed as a television series before being reworked as a theatrical sequel. Featuring new songs from Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear, Moana 2 counts Christina Chen and Yvett Merino as producers.
Directed by David Derrick Jr., Jason Hand and Dana Ledoux Miller, the sequel reunites voice stars Auli’i Cravalho and Dwayne Johnson. The story follows Moana as she embarks on an unexpected adventure in long-lost waters after receiving a call from her ancestors. Johnson reprises his role as demigod Maui.
A trailer for the movie released in late May was viewed by 178 million people in its first 24 hours, more than any other trailer for a film in the history of Disney’s animated empire, which is made up of Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar. (Moana is from Disney Animation.)
More recently, Moana 2 also set a record for first-day advance ticket sales.
