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Disney's 'Moana 2' Shatters Records with $57.5M Opening Day, Aims for $175M Thanksgiving Weekend

Nov 29, 2024, 07:10 AM

Disney's "Moana 2" is shattering Thanksgiving box office records with an impressive $57.5 million opening day on Wednesday, including Tuesday previews, marking the third biggest opening day ever for an animated film. The sequel set a pre-Thanksgiving preview record and earned $28 million on Thanksgiving Day, nearly doubling the previous holiday record set by "Frozen 2" at $15 million. This $28 million haul is also the fourth biggest Thursday gross ever. With a two-day domestic total of $85.5 million—already surpassing the entire five-day opening of the first "Moana"—the film is projected to collect at least $175 million over its first five days, with some estimates reaching $215 million, positioning it for the biggest Thanksgiving debut in history. Originally slated as a streaming sequel and held in 4,200 theaters, "Moana 2" now overtakes previous records held by "Frozen II" and "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire." Internationally, the film has grossed $109.6 million through Thursday, contributing to a projected global opening weekend of $380 million to $420 million. Despite a lower critical score of 70% on Rotten Tomatoes compared to the original's 95%, "Moana 2" is poised for major box office success and is expected to become Disney's best-performing Thanksgiving release since "Frozen II".