Moana 2 grossed $13.8 million on Tuesday, the biggest preview success in Disney Animation history. It is also the biggest pre-Thanksgiving opening gross and the second-best opening gross of all time for an animated film.
By comparison, Inside Out 2 grossed $13 million in Thursday previews in June before earning $154 million in its first three days. 2019's Toy Story 4 grossed $12 million in Thursday previews before growing to $121 million in its first three days. 2019's Frozen II grossed $8.5 million in Thursday previews before dropping to $130 million the weekend before Thanksgiving. Pixar's 2018 sequel "Incredibles 2," which holds the record for the highest-grossing debut for an animated film, grossed $18.5 million in previews on Thursday and raked in a whopping $183 million over the weekend.
Previews for "Moana 2" began Tuesday at 2 p.m. Disney's musical sequel officially opens on Wednesday and is expected to gross at least $135 million to $145 million in its first five days in theaters. Those ticket sales would match the highest Thanksgiving gross ever, surpassing the records set by 2013's "Frozen II" ($125 million in five days) and "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" ($109 million in five days).
Studios and theater owners are especially grateful for the windfall that "Moana 2" will bring, since the Polynesian adventure sequel was first developed as a TV series for Disney+ before being made into a feature film.
Reviews have been mixed, with an average of 67% on Rotten Tomatoes, but critics' sentiment doesn't always matter when it comes to family movies. Auli'i Cravalho and Dwayne Johnson will reprise their voiceover roles as the title heroine (not the princess) and tattooed demigod Maui in the sequel, which begins with Moana traveling to a remote ocean to find the hidden island and lift the curse. Lin-Manuel Miranda, who wrote catchy songs like "How Far I'll Go" and "You're Welcome" for the first film, will not return for the second, instead handing songwriting duties to Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear, the duo behind the unofficial Bridgerton musical.
With "Wicked" and "Gladiator II" also drawing audiences over the holiday, this should be one of the biggest Thanksgiving box office hauls in the modern era.
"Wicked" grossed a whopping $16.6 million on Tuesday. Universal's big-budget musical, starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, is expected to earn a traditional weekend gross of $60 million (down about 50% from its record-breaking $114 million opening) and at least $80 million over the five-day period. To date, it has grossed $144.9 million domestically and $195 million worldwide.
Meanwhile, "Gladiator II" made $6.6 million on Tuesday. Paramount's bigger-budget blockbuster is expected to gross $33 million in North American theaters over the traditional weekend (down 44% from its debut's $55.5 million) and $45 million from Wednesday through Sunday. The 2000 sequel to "Gladiator" grossed $67.2 million domestically and $232 million worldwide.
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