Box Office: ‘Moana 2’ Sets Disney Animation Record With $13.8 Million in Tuesday Previews

As a cinephile who has witnessed the rise and fall of countless cinematic epics, I must say that the upcoming Thanksgiving weekend is shaping up to be a true spectacle at the box office. The preview numbers for “Moana 2” are nothing short of astounding, setting new records for Disney Animation and promising a blockbuster debut.


In its initial showings at the box office on Tuesday, “Moana 2” earned a record-breaking $13.8 million from preview screenings, marking the highest preview gross ever for a Disney Animation film. Additionally, it holds the title of the largest pre-Thanksgiving preview earnings and is the second-highest preview figure for any animated movie.

Compared to other box office giants from Disney’s animated lineup, “Inside Out 2” (released in June) collected $13 million during its Thursday previews and went on to make $154 million within three days. In contrast, “Toy Story 4” (from 2019) made $12 million during its Thursday previews and grossed $121 million over the following three days. Similarly, “Frozen II” (also from 2019) earned $8.5 million on its first Thursday and ended up with a weekend total of $130 million before Thanksgiving. Pixar’s “Incredibles 2,” which holds the record for the highest animated film debut, generated $18.5 million during its Thursday previews and opened to an impressive $183 million over the weekend in 2018.

2 p.m. on Tuesday saw the commencement of early showings for “Moana 2”, with its official release date set for Wednesday. Disney projects this musical continuation to generate at least $135 million to $145 million in ticket sales within its first five days at the box office. If these projections hold true, it would surpass the current record for Thanksgiving earnings, which stands at $125 million set by “Frozen II” and $109 million set by 2013’s “Hunger Games: Catching Fire”.

The owners of studios and cinemas are particularly grateful for the substantial profit they expect from “Moana 2,” as this sequel to the Polynesian adventure was initially conceived as a TV series for Disney+, but later transformed into a full-length movie.

Feedback on this movie has been varied, with an average rating of 67% on Rotten Tomatoes. However, critical opinion often doesn’t influence attendance for family films. In the sequel, Auli’i Cravalho and Dwayne Johnson reprise their voice roles as Moana, the title character who is not a princess, and Maui, the tattooed demigod, respectively. The story continues with Moana venturing deep into the ocean to find a secret island and lift a curse. Lin-Manuel Miranda, known for composing popular songs like “How Far I’ll Go” and “You’re Welcome” in the original film, is not returning this time. Instead, songwriting duties have been handed over to Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear, the creators of “The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical.

Over the recent holiday period, both “Wicked” and “Gladiator II” have been pulling in large audiences. This suggests that this year’s Thanksgiving could potentially become one of the busiest at the box office in contemporary history.

As a devoted cinema enthusiast, I can’t help but share the exciting news about “Wicked”! This magical musical brought in an impressive $16.6 million on Tuesday alone. Predictions suggest it will earn around $60 million over the conventional weekend, experiencing a roughly 50% drop from its staggering opening weekend of $114 million. By the end of the five-day stretch, it’s expected to have grossed at least $80 million in total. So far, it has accumulated an impressive $144.9 million within the U.S. and a global total of $195 million worldwide. Truly, “Wicked” is casting a spell on audiences!

Concurrently, “Gladiator II” earned approximately $6.6 million on a Tuesday. If projections hold true, the film is expected to bring in around $33 million from North American theaters over the weekend (a decrease of 44% from its opening weekend’s $55.5 million), and an additional $45 million from Wednesday through Sunday. As of now, the sequel to the 2000 film “Gladiator” has generated a domestic total of $67.2 million and a worldwide total of $232 million.

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2024-11-27 19:18