Disney has always been known as a sequel powerhouse, whether we’re talking classics like Toy Story 2 or more modern sequels like Frozen II, following up a successful movie is something the company has never been afraid to do. This year’s Moana 2 is no different, leading the box office with a holiday five-day debut of $215M, breaking the previous record of $204.6M set by The Super Mario Bros Movie.
All of this is on top of the other records it has already set: highest Thanksgiving opener and revenue driver of all time, and added to the box office total yesterday two days ago that saw the highest sales in box office tickets on a Black Friday in history. In short, Moana 2 is leading the way into a new post-pandemic age of movies.
Movies like Gladiator II and Wicked, this summer’s Deadpool and Wolverine, and Disney’s other 2024 powerhouse, Inside Out 2, have all shown that theaters are not only capable of pulling numbers, but Hollywood is still capable of delivering consistent quality entertainment. Now, with new movies on the horizon like Mufasa, Captain America, The Thunderbolts*, Fantastic Four First Steps, and Pixar’s Elio (to name a few of the notable titles in production), we have even more quality entertainment to look forward to in the future. For movie goers who enjoy going to see movies and not just stream them from home, this is a very promising trend.
The fact Moana 2 was able to lead this charge is almost mind blowing, as the film started as a miniseries for Disney+ and didn’t even have stars Auli’i Cravalho and Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson attached until earlier this year. Somewhere along the way Disney realized this was a mistake, fast-tracking the transformation into the full length holiday release movie and while some were skeptical the decision turned out to be a home run.
Altogether, totals for this weeks holiday box office haul surpassed $425 million for Moana 2, Wicked, and Gladiator II, which also stands as a cumulative box office total record. Before this year, that record was held by Thanksgiving week in 2018 with only $316M. Some give credit to the rising prices in theaters, but that isn’t going to add an extra $100 million.
What really is happening is that movie theaters are taking the viral route and going with titles that seem to show viral reception online, and well, it’s working. With last years Barbie and Oppenheimer proving that this strategy works, last weeks strategy of releasing a mix of “viral” properties that appeal to all the major movie-going demographics seems to be just what Hollywood needs to inject excitement into movies again. The population is larger, audiences are more complex than ever, and entertainment is finally catching up.
Via THR