In the latest film, Moana is a big sister to toddler Simea. Photo / Disney
In the latest film, Moana is a big sister to toddler Simea. Photo / Disney
Moana 2 broke box office records in the US over the weekend after its release last week.
The sequel to the first Moana film hit cinemas on November 27 - November 28 in New Zealand. Now, according to Variety, the film has “cemented a new Thanksgiving box office record” in the States.
Maui the demigod is back - with jokes, still - in Moana 2. Photo / Disney
It made $225 million (NZ$382.4m) in total at the box office over the American holiday weekend, smashing the records previously set by Frozen II in 2019 - $125m (NZ$212m)- and Hunger Games: Catching Fire in 2013 - $109m (NZ$185m).
It also overtook last year’s The Super Mario Bros as the biggest five-day film debut in history, with US ticket sales surpassing expectations.
Disney Entertainment co-chairman Alan Bergman said in a statement, “Moana 2 has far surpassed our high expectations this weekend and 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.”
Together with Moana 2, the release of Wicked and Gladiator II have made around $422 million (NZ$717m) this Thanksgiving season, according to Variety.
But how has the sequel fared in cinemas in Aotearoa?
According to a release from Disney today, Moana 2 opened with NZ$0.63 million on Thursday November 28 - the biggest opening day of 2024 so far.
It also marked the highest animated opening day in history for the New Zealand box office, as well as the highest-grossing Walt Disney Animation Studios opening day of all time.
A spokesperson for Hoyts confirmed to the Herald that Moana 2 opened in the number one spot in New Zealand cinemas and stayed there throughout the weekend, earning $3.14m for both the English and Māori versions of the film combined.
Moana of Motunui is back in Moana 2, which takes the young wayfinder to a new adventure with new and old friends. Photo / Disney
They said Moana 2 was the highest grossing animated weekend of all time in New Zealand, beating out 2004’s Shrek 2, which at the time took out $2.2 million.
It was also the eighth highest grossing weekend of all time and the highest grossing opening weekend of this year, beating Deadpool and Wolverine. Moana 2 was the fourth highest opening since the Covid-19 pandemic, following Barbie, Avatar: The Way of Water, and Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Moana 2 also took the top spot across the ditch in Australia, coming in at number one with an opening weekend of A$12.3m (NZ$13.5m).
Directed by David Derrick jnr, Jason Hand and Dana Ledoux Miller, the sequel picks up three years after the events of the first film, 2016’s Moana. The story follows Moana of Motunui (Auliʻi Cravalho), the strong-willed daughter of Polynesian Chief Tui (Temuera Morrison), as she embarks on an all-new ocean adventure after an unexpected call from her ancestors.
Along the way, she’s helped by her demigod friend Maui (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson reprises this role), the “grumpy” yet loveable Kele (Dave Fane) and encounters the mysterious new adversary Matangi (Awhimai Fraser).
The first Moana film, released in 2016, grossed $248.7 million (NZ$422.8m) in the US and Canada, with a global total of $687.2 million (NZ$1.168bn). It made $15.5 million (NZ$26m) on its opening day, which was a record for Disney at the time and broke the original Frozen film’s record.
