Box Office: ‘Moana 2’ Tops Best Thanksgiving Ever, Opens to Record $221M in U.S. and $386M Globally

In a Thanksgiving feast for the ages, movie ticket sales hit an all-time holiday high at the domestic box office, led by Walt Disney Animation’s instant mega-hit Moana 2.

Disney’s fantasy musical Moana 2 served up a mammoth holiday domestic debut of $221 million. Smashing numerous records, the sequel boasts the biggest five-day debut in history — besting The Super Mario Bros. Movie ($204.6 million) — as well delivering both the top Thanksgiving opening of all time and the biggest Thanksgiving gross of all time by a mile, beating Frozen ($93.6 million) and Frozen II ($125 million). And its three-day weekend haul of $135.5 million is the biggest opening ever for a Walt Disney Animation title.

Overseas, Moana 2 sailed to $165.3 million for a global start of $383.3 million (that’s already ahead of Wicked). Across Latin America, it was the top opening of all time for a Walt Disney Animation title. Ditto for Australia. In Europe, it was second only to Frozen II (France was an exception, where it secured the best launch ever).

The family-fueled movie came in well ahead of expectations, to put it mildly, in another major win for Disney’s film empire following such 2024 hits as Deadpool & Wolverine and Inside Out 2, to name a few. It’s been a banner year for the Alan Bergman-led movie studio after a rough few years. Heading into the weekend, Moana 2 was tracking for a start of $125 million to $135 million for the five-day holiday corridor (Wednesday-Sunday), which would already have been a record-buster. Through Friday alone, it had earned $192.7 million globally, including $140 million domestically and $52.7 million overseas. In the U.S., the pic played to an ethnically diverse audience, while 25 percent of ticket buyers were 12 and under (another 15 percent were between ages 13 and 17). Overall, it skewed female (65 percent).

Thanks to the potent combination of Moana 2, Universal’s Wicked and Paramount’s Gladiator II, overall Thanksgiving revenue came in north of $425 million for the five days in an unparalleled post-pandemic victory for the domestic box office. The previous record-holder was Thanksgiving 2018, when domestic revenue reached $316 million. The Moanapocalypse-Glicked phenomenon proves how much the market can expand when there are movies that have broad yet varied appeal, as Barbenheimer did last year. According to the BoxOffice Company, the three films made up 75 percent of all showtimes.

Continuing to bewitch audiences, Wicked alone grossed $117.5 million for the five days after opening to a record-smashing $112 million last weekend, putting its domestic haul at $262.4 million through Sunday and an estimated $359.2 million globally (its foreign cume is $97 million.) In yet another milestone, the movie has passed up Grease ($188.2 million) to become the top Broadway musical adaptation of all time domestically. It also is the third biggest Thanksgiving haul behind Moana 2 and Frozen II. Females, and particularly older females, continue to make up a large swath of the audience. Directed by Jon M. Chu, the musical stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo.

The Ridley Scott-directed Gladiator II, which also opened last weekend, is perched in third place and carved up a pleasing $44 million for the five days for a domestic total of $111.2 million and an impressive $320 million globally. The male-skewing film’s high-profile cast includes Denzel Washington and Paul Mescal.

Moana 2 was originally developed as a television series before being reworked as a theatrical sequel. The first Moana — which included original songs from Lin-Manuel Miranda — was a solid but not spectacular performer at the box office in 2016 before transforming into a cultural sensation. It went on to become the most streamed film across all platforms in 2023. Moana 2 features new songs from Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear and counts Christina Chen and Yvett Merino as producers.

Directed by David Derrick Jr., Jason Hand and Dana Ledoux Miller, the sequel reunites voice stars Auli’i Cravalho and Dwayne Johnson. The story follows Moana as she embarks on an unexpected adventure in long-lost waters after receiving a call from her ancestors. Johnson reprises his role as demigod Maui.

Bergman said the movie’s performance is a testament to the phenomenon that Moana has become. “This is a moment to celebrate, and we’re thankful to all the moviegoers and fans who’ve helped make this a record-breaking debut,” he continued in a statement.

Among other records, Moana 2 served up the biggest Thanksgiving day of all time domestically, and the biggest Black Friday.

The previous Thanksgiving five-day opening record belonged to sister Disney Animation title Frozen. Frozen II, which launched the weekend before the holiday, versus midweek, also held the five-day record with $125 million in ticket sales. All told, Disney lays claim to the top seven Thanksgiving openings of all time.

Reviewers haven’t been kind to Moana 2, compared to the first film, but it is hardly impacting interest. The movie’s audience score (now known as the “popcornmeter”) on Rotten Tomatoes is already at 88 percent, while it earned an A- CinemaScore (compared to an A for Moana) and is garnering stellar exits on PostTrak. Its critics score on Rotten Tomatoes currently sits at 66 percent, versus 95 percent for the first film.

Johnson has two movies in the top five. Amazon MGM Studios’ holiday offering Red One, which stars Johnson opposite Chris Evans, came in fourth with a five-day haul of $18.7 million for a domestic total of $76.1 million and $148.7 million globally. The film is now in its third weekend.

Lionsgate’s The Best Christmas Pageant Ever rounded out the top five with an estimated $4.9 million for a domestic tally of $32 million through its fourth weekend.

Dec. 1, 8:30 a.m. Updated with revised estimates.

This story was originally published Nov. 30 at 8:18 a.m.