Moana 2 has taken the Thanksgiving box office by storm. On Wednesday, it earned a record-breaking $57.5 million in the U.S., followed by $28 million on Thursday. In doing so, it scored the biggest Thanksgiving Day box office take of all time and the fourth biggest for a Thursday non-opening day. Rival studios project the movie’s earnings at around $225 million. Disney refused to comment until Friday for fear that they would overestimate their earnings, following the recent over-projections for Wicked and Gladiator II.
The storyline follows the adventures of Moana as she responds to the call of her ancestors across long-lost waters. Voice stars Auli’i Cravalho and Dwayne Johnson reprise their roles as Moana and demigod Maui, respectively. The film is directed by David Derrick Jr., Jason Hand, and Dana Ledoux Miller.
Moana 2 has already earned $109.6 million globally, and it is not even the weekend yet. This is indeed the “Moanapocolypse.” It will likely shatter many records over the next few days. It has already beaten Frozen, which earned $94 million, and it will soon pass Frozen II, which took in $125 million.
Regardless, Moana 2 has already come out on top among Walt Disney Animation films in terms of first-day earnings. It places third out of all animated films as well, surpassed only by Incredibles 2 and Inside Out 2. Some say it could become the biggest five-day opening of all time.