Movie Monday: “Moana 2” Rides A Huge Wave Into Theaters


December 2, 2024 12:33 PM CDT
By: Laura McKenna
Supported by
Moana 2 had the biggest five-day opening of all time, with $221 million.
Earnings were tallied from movie goers from Thanksgiving Eve (Wednesday) showings through Sunday.
What’s interesting is that the first Moana did well but didn’t seem to perform as great as some other animated movies did when originally released. In fact, it wasn’t even really meant to be a movie. The original Moana was being developed into a Disney+ series. But luckily, it was instead made into the 2016 movie. Then in 2023, it became one of the most streamed movies across all platforms.
Today, it sits atop a big ‘ol stack of successful movies:
Biggest 5-Day Debut of All Time
Moana 2
The Super Mario Bros. Movie (April 2023): $204 million
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (July 2010): $200 million
Transformers: Dark of the Moon (July 2011): $163 million
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (July 2009): $158 million
Biggest Global Opening of All Time for An Animated Film
Moana 2: $389 million.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie: $377 million
Biggest Walt Disney Animation Three-Day Debut of All Time
Moana 2: $135.5 million
Frozen II: $130.3 million
Biggest Black Friday Gross of All Time
Moana 2: $54.5 million
Frozen II: $34.2 million
Biggest Thanksgiving Day Gross of All Time
Moana 2: $28 million
Frozen II: $15 million
Biggest Opening Day for a Walt Disney Animation
Moana 2: $57.5 million
Frozen II: $42.2 million
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