‘Moana 2’ Breaks Thanksgiving Weekend Record—Breezing Past ‘Frozen II’

Topline

Disney’s “Moana 2” brought in $221 million in U.S. ticket sales over the five-day holiday weekend, making it the highest-grossing Thanksgiving release of all time and contributing to a record-breaking holiday box office stretch.

This image released by Disney shows the character Moana, voiced by Auli’i Cravalho, in a scene from … [+] “Moana 2.” (Disney via AP)

Key Facts

“Moana 2” sales from Wednesday to Sunday shattered the previous $125 million Thanksgiving weekend record set by “Frozen II” in 2019, followed by “Hunger Games: Catching Fire” in 2013 ($110 million), according to data from Box Office Mojo.

It also broke a record for the biggest five-day opening set in April last year by “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” at $204.6 million.

“Moana 2,” along with “Wicked” and “Gladiator II,” amounted to a Thanksgiving week total of nearly $420 million, according to Box Office Mojo, surpassing 2018’s record for the best Thanksgiving box office week in history.

The animated adventure film exceeded expectations after bringing in $28 million on Thanksgiving Day, putting it on track to earn $175 million over the five-day holiday week, Variety reported.

Big Number

$386 million. That’s how much “Moana 2” has earned worldwide since its release, including $165.3 million in international ticket sales.

Top 10 Biggest Thanksgiving U.s. Films This Year (weds-Sun)

Moana 2 ($221 million)
Wicked ($117.5 million)
Gladiator II ($44 million)
Red One ($18.7 million)
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever ($4.9 million)
Bonhoeffer: Pastor. Spy. Assassin ($3.5 million)
Venom: The Last Dance ($3.1 million)
The Wild Robot ($1 million)
A Real Pain ($900,000)
Conclave ($800,000)

Key Background

“Moana 2” is a sequel to 2016’s “Moana,” which grossed $82 million in its Thanksgiving opening that year and became the most streamed movie of the year in 2023. Despite a strong Thanksgiving showing, the U.S. box office is on track for a rocky year: Films have grossed just over $7.5 billion so far this year, behind the more than $8.1 billion recorded at this point in 2023, and well behind pre-pandemic 2019’s more than $10.1 billion. The industry has struggled to recover from the pandemic due to a shift toward streaming services and the lingering impacts of last year’s actors’ and writers’ strikes.