Moana 2 has crossed a huge box office milestone during its fourth weekend in theaters. The 2024 Disney animated movie, which was originally developed as a Disney+ exclusive series, is the sequel to 2016’s Moana, following the title character (Auli’i Cravalho) reuniting with the demigod Maui (Dwayne Johnson) on a brand new seafaring adventure. The Moana 2 release debuted midweek over the Thanksgiving holiday and still raked in a staggering 3-day opening weekend gross of $139.8 million in North America alone.
Per Variety, as of Saturday, Moana 2 has already crossed the $350 million milestone at the domestic box office. While it remains to be seen how high it climbs by the end of the weekend, it is well on its way to surpassing Despicable Me 4 ($361 million) to become the fourth highest-grossing domestic release of the year so far. That would place it behind just Wicked ($370.4 million ahead of this weekend), Deadpool & Wolverine ($636.7 million), and Inside Out 2 ($652.9 million).
What This Means For Moana 2
The Movie Is In Rarefied Air
The Moana 2 box office reaching this domestic milestone before the end of its first month in theaters is even more remarkable considering the fact that it faced major competition during its fourth weekend in theaters. The pre-Christmas weekend saw the simultaneous release of the franchise blockbusters Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Mufasa: The Lion King. The former is the third installment in a franchise that consistently grosses more than $300 million worldwide, while the latter is a prequel to what was the highest-grossing animated movie of all time before 2024.
The $1.66 billion worldwide gross of 2019’s The Lion King was usurped by 2024’s Inside Out 2, which earned $1.69 billion.
By hitting this milestone, the Disney sequel has also marked itself as one of the best North American releases of all time, which has perhaps been propelled by Moana 2 reviews earning it a Fresh 61% Rotten Tomatoes score. Only 73 movies have grossed more than $350 million at the domestic box office beforehand, and it will likely quickly climb higher on the all-time chart. There are several movies that it is likely to surpass within the next week, including 2014’s American Sniper ($350.1 million), 2011’s Transformers: Dark of the Moon ($352.4 million), and 2015’s Furious 7 ($353 million).
Our Take On The Moana 2 Milestone
More Is Ahead For The Disney Movie
Given its current momentum, it seems highly likely that Moana 2 will continue its push toward even greater milestones through the new year. Although four new releases – Babygirl, Nosferatu, The Fire Inside, and A Complete Unknown – will be arriving on Christmas Day to give it major competition, none of them are courting the same young demographic as Moana. The fact that it has already held its own against its direct competitors Sonic and Mufasa shows that the smash hit Disney musical should have no problem continuing to carve out space for itself in theaters.
Source: Variety
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Moana 2 is the sequel to the 2016 animated film Moana. Directed by David G. Derrick Jr., Jason Hand, and Dana Ledoux Miller, the film continues the journey of Moana as she embarks on new adventures, exploring the vast Pacific Ocean while encountering new characters and challenges along the way.
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