Without any delay, Moana 2 is a certified hit, and the movie didn’t just crush the box office competition, but it also set a handful of major records with its historic debut. But is anyone really surprised?
Moana 2 is the sequel to Disney’s most streamed movie ever, the 2016 animated hit that turned into a Goliath franchise with its arrival on Disney Plus. Naturally, having this much popularity from the jump, the sequel was always going to do well — but it really succeeded in capturing all of its possible accolades when it dropped on Nov. 27, 2024.
The film is now the record-holder for the biggest five-day domestic opening ever, knocking Frozen 2. In fact, it almost doubled Frozen 2’s Thanksgiving day take of $15 million.
Overall, Moana 2 managed to earn $221 million domestically in its first five days, but it also performed well internationally, taking home a worldwide total to $386 million. On a global scale, it also reached for the record books with the year’s second biggest opening behind Deadpool & Wolverine, the third biggest opening for an animated movie ever, and plenty more accolades in specific markets. Needless to say, this movie is a success.
It wasn’t just the love for the original movie that drove this sequel to early box office success. Disney carefully crafted a global advertising campaign worth more than $100 million to ensure that everybody (and we mean everybody) knew the sequel was coming. This included collaborations with Hawaiian Airlines, Verizon, Oral B, Minecraft, and a lot more. The good news for the House of Mouse is that it all seemed to pay off, so Disney execs are probably singing with as much enthusism as their most profitable ocean-bound princess.
Even before it reached theaters, Moana 2 was already setting records. Back in October, the movie broke Fandango’s record for most ticket presales in one day, which naturally became a driving factor in its eventual day-one success.
While the box office tells the tale of an incredible movie, reviewers would think differently. Right now, the sequel is only sitting with an average 65 percent critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, a substantial downgrade from the first movie’s 95 percent. However, audiences are taking to the movie much more kindly than reviewers (as is so often the case), and Moana 2 currently has a much better 87 percent score among audiences.
Perhaps the critic score will change as more media have a chance to see the film, since who can deny the magic of beautifully sun tunes and equally beautiful animation? All of this success is great news for Disney, since this sequel was initially planned to be a Disney Plus show rather than a movie. Retooling the story for the big screen would have been a giant task, but it has paid off in spades so far, and there are no signs of any of this momentum slowing down soon.
If you loved the first film but haven’t yet had a chance to see Moana 2 the animated hit is available in cinemas around the globe right now.
Published: Dec 1, 2024 11:49 pm