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

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

Want to contact Laura McKenna about a good movie you’ve seen or anything else that’s on your mind? Email anytime, she’d love to hear from you: Laura.McKenna@civicmedia.us
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