Box Office: ‘Moana 2’ Shatters Records With $13.8M in Previews, Biggest Ever for Walt Disney Animation

Alongside "Wicked" and "Gladiator II," the animated family movie will be released worldwide on Wednesday.

With a record-breaking $13.8 million in previews on Tuesday, Moana 2 became the highest-grossing Walt Disney Animation film ever and the second-highest animated film overall, behind sister Pixar's Incredibles 2 ($18.5 million). Considering that the Incredibles sequel debuted in the summer, that is quite an accomplishment. According to Disney, just 20% of institutions and 48% of schools were closed on Tuesday.

There's more. The greatest Tuesday pre-Thanksgiving preview gross of all time went to Moana 2.

The sequel is predicted to premiere with a five-day total of $125 million to $135 million (Wednesday through Sunday), making it the greatest Thanksgiving opening ever. Additionally, it ought to be the highest five-day earner ever. Frozen ($93.6 million), another Disney Animation film, now holds the opening record. With $125 million in ticket sales, Frozen II, which debuted the weekend before the holiday rather than during the week, currently retains the five-day record.

Additionally, overall five-day income for the extended Turkey Day weekend should hit a record high because of the powerful combo of Universal's Wicked, Paramount's Gladiator II, and Disney's Moana sequel.

With $16.6 million at the top of Tuesday's chart, Jon M. Chu's Wicked continued its own record-breaking run, while Gladiator II, directed by Ridley Scott, made a respectable $6.7 million. To get ahead of the holiday, both movies—as well as Moana 2—opened last weekend.

Before being reimagined as a theatrical sequel, the Disney animated family film was first created as a television series. Before becoming a worldwide phenomenon and the most watched movie on all platforms in 2023, the original Moana was a respectable but unimpressive box office performer in 2016. Christina Chen and Yvett Merino are producers of Moana 2, which includes new songs by Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear.

The sequel, which was directed by Jason Hand, Dana Ledoux Miller, and David Derrick Jr., brings voice actors Dwayne Johnson and Auli'i Cravalho back together. When Moana receives a call from her ancestors, the story follows her as she sets off on an unexpected voyage in long-lost waters. Johnson plays the demigod Maui once more.

Compared to the original movie, Moana 2 has received less favorable reviews from critics, but this doesn't seem to be affecting interest. Exit rates are high on PostTrak, and its audience score (now called the "popcornmeter") on Rotten Tomatoes is already at 89 percent. Currently, it has a 67 percent critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, compared to the original film's 95 percent.