Disney’s highly-anticipated animated sequel Moana 2 is en route to smashing box office records after an enormous opening day on Wednesday.
While many fans haven’t exactly been giving it glowing reviews – and the Rotten Tomatoes score for the sequel (66%) is much lower than the original (95%) it’s still eyeing a huge debut.
The film took in a whopping $57.5 million on Wednesday, which includes a record-breaking $13.8 million for Tuesday preview screenings, the biggest preview debut in Disney Animation history, via Variety.
With this huge opening day, it’s now projected to take in between $175 million and $200 million over the extended five-day holiday weekend.
Even if it comes in on the low end of those projections, it would easily best Disney’s Frozen II’s $125 million haul over the Thanksgiving holiday in 2019.
It it lands in the higher end of those projections, it could become the biggest animation debut of all time.
Disney’s highly-anticipated animated sequel Moana 2 is en route to smashing box office records after an enormous opening day on Wednesday
The film took in a whopping $57.5 million on Wednesday, which includes a record-breaking $13.8 million for Tuesday preview screenings, the biggest preview debut in Disney Animation history, via Variety
2018’s Incredibles 2 currently holds the all-time record for an animation film debut with $183 million opening weekend.
Moana 2’s opening day tally ranks as the third-highest ever for an animated film, behind Incredibles 2 ($71.2 million) and Inside Out 2 ($63.6 million).
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While the Thanksgiving holiday weekend is typically quite compeтιтive among a number of high-powered new releases, Moana 2 is the only newcomer in theaters.
It has already taken in an additional $66 million in overseas markets ahead of the film’s domestic debut over the holiday weekend.
The middling critical reception to the sequel certainly hasn’t seemed to quell fan appeтιтe for the film at all.
The original – which debuted in 2016 – followed the тιтle character (voiced by Auli’i Cravalho) who teams up with the mighty Maui (Dwayne Johnson) to find a mystical relic.
Moana took in $248.7 million at the domestic box office and $643.3 million worldwide, which quickly started talks for a sequel.
While at first the sequel was being discussed as a TV show, they ultimately brought Cravalho and Johnson back to voice their beloved characters for the film sequel.
Moana 2’s opening day tally ranks as the third-highest ever for an animated film, behind Incredibles 2 ($71.2 million) and Inside Out 2 ($63.6 million)
While the Thanksgiving holiday weekend is typically quite compeтιтive among a number of high-powered new releases, Moana 2 is the only newcomer in theaters
The middling critical reception to the sequel certainly hasn’t seemed to quell fan appeтιтe for the film at all
Disney is also currently filming a live-action adaptation of Moana, with Johnson again playing Maui and Catherine Laga’aia starring as the тιтle character
Disney is also currently filming a live-action adaptation of Moana, with Johnson again playing Maui and Catherine Laga’aia starring as the тιтle character.
Filming is currently under way, on the live-action Moana, with Thomas Kail directing from a script by Ron Clements, John Musker and Chris Williams.
Disney has yet to announce any future plans for the animated Moana franchise, though if this is as big a hit as expected, a sequel may be coming sooner than later.
Johnson can also currently be seen in the holiday film Red One, and he’ll next be seen as Mark Kerr in The Smashing Machine.
