“Moana 2” set sail at the box office with $13.8 million in preview screenings on Tuesday, ranking as the biggest preview haul in history for Disney Animation. It’s also the biggest pre-Thanksgiving preview bounty and the second-best preview figure of all time for an animated title.
To compare to Disney’s other animated juggernauts, this June’s “Inside Out 2” raked in $13 million in Thursday previews before notching $154 million in its three-day debut, 2019’s “Toy Story 4” brought in $12 million in Thursday previews before launching to $121 million over the three days, while 2019’s “Frozen II” earned $8.5 million in Thursday previews before bowing to $130 million over the weekend prior to Thanksgiving. Pixar’s 2018 sequel “Incredibles 2,” which retains the record for the biggest debut for an animated film, pulled in $18.5 million in Thursday previews before opening to a mighty $183 million over the weekend.
Preview screenings for “Moana 2” began at 2 p.m. on Tuesday. Disney’s musical sequel officially opens on Wednesday and is estimated to collect at least $135 million to $145 million over its first five days in theaters. Those ticket sales would notch the biggest Thanksgiving haul, overtaking the record set by “Frozen II” ($125 million over the five days) and 2013’s “Hunger Games: Catching Fire” ($109 million over the five days).
The studio and movie theater owners are especially thankful for the windfall that “Moana 2” is poised to bring because the follow-up to the Polynesian adventure was developed as a television show for Disney+ before it was retooled into a feature film.
Reviews have been mixed, with a 67% average on Rotten Tomatoes, but critical sentiment doesn’t always factor into turnout for family films. Auli’i Cravalho and Dwayne Johnson reprise their voice roles as the eponymous heroine (who is not a princess) and the tattooed demigod Maui in the sequel, which picks up as Moana journeys far into the ocean to find a hidden island and break a curse. Lin-Manuel Miranda, who penned catchy tunes like “How Far I’ll Go” and “You’re Welcome” for the first film, didn’t return for the second, instead passing songwriting duties to Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear, the duo behind “The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical.”
With “Wicked” and “Gladiator II” also drawing crowds over the holiday frame, this is expected to be one of the biggest Thanksgivings at the box office in modern times.
“Wicked” added a huge $16.6 million on Tuesday. Universal’s big-budget musical, starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, is expected to bring in $60 million over the traditional weekend (dropping roughly 50% from its record $114 million start) and at least $80 million over the five days. It has generated $144.9 million domestically and $195 million worldwide to date.
Meanwhile “Gladiator II” collected $6.6 million on Tuesday. Paramount’s even bigger-budget tentpole looks to add $33 million from North American cinemas over the traditional weekend (declining 44% from its $55.5 million debut) and $45 million between Wednesday and Sunday. The sequel to 2000’s “Gladiator” has grossed $67.2 million domestically and $232 million globally so far.