“Moana 2” Now Tracking for a Record-Breaking Opening Weekend Box Office

It could beat records currently held by both “Frozen” and “Frozen II.”

We have a few weeks left until Moana 2 hits theaters but the animated sequel is already tracking to potentially have a record-breaking opening.

What’s Happening:

  • Moana 2 opens on Wednesday, November 27, the day before Thanksgiving. That’s a date many blockbuster films (and many of them from Disney) have opened, making the most of the extended holiday most Americans have that week, which essentially gives a movie a five-day “weekend” opening. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the tracking data they’ve been given currently has Moana 2 opening between $125 million-$135 domestically from Wednesday-Sunday. As THR notes, long-lead tracking service The Quorum had previously suggested Moana 2 would open with $100 million.
  • If Moana 2 opens as well as THR’s sources believe it will, it will easily break the current record for a Thanksgiving-week opening, which is held by another Disney animated film, Frozen, which opened with $93.6 million back in 2013.
  • However, it’s worth noting the current record for the most money made over that same Wednesday-Sunday Thanksgiving period is not from any film’s opening weekend, but from another Disney animated sequel’s second weekend – 2019’s Frozen II, which opened the weekend before Thanksgiving with $130 million but then still made a massive $125 million over the ensuing holiday. However, it seems as though Moana 2 may be able to beat both records (Thanksgiving opening weekend and Thanksgiving weekend overall) if it can match the upper levels of its current tracking.
  • The first Moana opened in 2016 over the Thanksgiving period as well, bringing in $82.1 million domestic across the five days and went on to make $687 million worldwide by the end of its impressive run.
  • Moana has been an unstoppable force on streaming in the years since thanks to its availability on Disney+, frequently ranking as one of the most-watched movies of the week. In 2023, it was the most-watched streaming movie for the entire year, regardless of streaming platform.
  • Originally, the project that became Moana 2 was going to be a Disney+ animated series, before it was retooled into a feature film.
  • The first sign that Moana 2 could open very big was when it broke the day 1 ticket pre-sale record for 2024 for an animated film, outpacing recent hit films like Inside Out 2, Despicable Me 4 and Kung Fu Panda 4. Inside Out 2 is currently the biggest movie of the year and the biggest animated movie in history, with a jaw-dropping $1,697,092,880 worldwide total.

What They’re Saying:

  • AMC Theaters CEO Adam Aron (on an earnings call this week): “Some people in the know are telling me that Moana 2 could eclipse and outshine even the success of Inside Out 2.”

More Moana 2:

  • There are a ton of different options on where and how you can see Moana 2, and Tony provides an overview of all of them.
  • RockLove Jewelry has revealed a Moana 2 locket you can pre-order.
  • Check out Alex’s look at some of the other Moana 2 toys, dolls, accessories and more you can find, while Maxon spotlights even more Moana 2 items that have been announced.
  • Moana 2 reunites Moana and Maui for an expansive new voyage alongside a crew of unlikely seafarers. After receiving an unexpected call from her wayfinding ancestors, Moana must journey to the far seas of Oceania and into dangerous, long-lost waters for an adventure unlike anything she’s ever faced.

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Eric Goldman
Growing up in Los Angeles, Eric grew up adoring movies and theme parks, carrying that love with him into a career covering a wide gamut of entertainment and pop culture that also includes TV, toys and comics. As a lifelong fan of both Disneyland and horror, the Haunted Mansion is his dream home.