Given how popular the first Moana has been on Disney+ since the streaming service first debuted, it probably shouldn’t be surprising that the film’s sequel is making a boatload of cash. Variety is reporting that the movie made $28 million on Thanksgiving Day, and that the movie is expected to make at least $175 million over the five-day holiday weekend, smashing through the records set by Frozen II in 2019 ($125 million).
Some rival studios apparently believe that $175 million is the low end of what the movie might make, suggesting that it could blow past $200 million. The movie has already earned $85.5 million in the U.S. alone and seems guaranteed to become one of the biggest hits of 2024.
The movie’s success was far from inevitable. In fact, Moana 2 was originally planned to be a series released directly onto Disney+. The original movie did just fine in theaters, earning $687.2 million over the course of its run globally, but the company became increasingly sure that Moana 2 would be a hit after the movie became one of the most viewed titles on Disney+.
Moana 2 isn’t the only movie expected to perform well over the holiday weekend. Wicked and Gladiator II both debuted last weekend, and Wicked is expected to clear $100 million over the five-day weekend, with Gladiator II raking in $45 million. That triumvirate of successful titles could power the box office as a whole to one of its best runs in recent memory. Moana 2 is looking like it will be the king of this weekend, but there are several other titles that are suspected to perform respectably in their own right.
