The five-day holiday opening weekend of "Moana 2" could become the best-ever Thanksgiving release if the film, a sequel to the 2016 hit “Moana," continues on its high-dollar track after beating Disney Animation records in previews Tuesday.
Moana, voiced by Auli'i Cravalho, in a scene from "Moana 2."
"Moana 2" grossed $13.8 million in preview screenings, Variety reported, giving it the highest-grossing preview haul ever ahead of Thanksgiving weekend and the most preview earnings for a film from Disney Animation.
The film, which opened Wednesday, is expected to gross between $135 million and $145 million in its first five days, which would overtake "Frozen II" ($125 million) for a Thanksgiving weekend record.
"Moana 2" did better in previews than "Inside Out 2”—the highest grossing film of the year so far—which earned $13 million the day before its release.
"Moana," which went on to gross $248.8 million domestically and $643.3 worldwide, earned $56.6 million its Thanksgiving opening weekend in 2016, the equivalent of $74 million today.
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Moana, voiced by Auli'i Cravalho, left, and Chief Tui, voiced by Temuera Morrison, in a scene from ... [+]
67%. That's the critics score for "Moana 2" on Rotten Tomatoes as of Wednesday, with reviews that both lambast its lackluster musical numbers and praise it for its "stunning" animation.
“Moana” was the most streamed movie of the year in the U.S. in 2023, with 11.6 billion minutes streamed.
"Moana" is a musical starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Auliʻi Cravalho. The film is set in ancient Polynesia and focuses on the character of Moana as a young girl chosen by the ocean to reunite a relic with the goddess Te Fiti. The film was praised for starring a strong female protagonist with no prince charming and for its animation, including the hand-drawn animation of Maui's (Johnson's character) tattoos. Moana became the 12th official Disney princess and a walk-through attraction based on the film was opened at EPCOT in Florida as part of the Walt Disney Company's 100th anniversary celebration. Disney is reportedly working on a live-action adaptation of the original film.