Moana 2 sails to $495m debut at global box office
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American actress Auliʻi Cravalho portrays the character Moana in Moana 2.
PHOTO: THE WALT DISNEY CO
LOS ANGELES – Walt Disney’s animated musical Moana 2
A sequel to the 2016 animated film, Moana 2 reunites American actress Auli’i Cravalho as the wayfinding title character with demigod Maui, voiced by American actor Dwayne Johnson, on a voyage to break a curse and reunite the people of the ocean.
Initially envisioned as a series for the Disney+ streaming service, Moana 2 racked up a record US$221 million from North American ticket sales over the Thanksgiving period from Nov 27 through Dec 1. That surpassed Frozen 2’s holiday haul of US$125 million in 2019.
For all movies in cinemas over the weekend, the North American total hit US$420 million, smashing the 2018 Thanksgiving record of US$315.6 million led by Ralph Breaks The Internet and Creed II.
The results provided Hollywood studios and cinemas a reason to celebrate after prolonged closures during the Covid-19 pandemic and concerns that audiences might abandon cinemas in favour of staying home to watch streaming TV.
“If you make the right movie, a movie with heart and humour that appeals to audiences, they will come to the theatre,” Disney Entertainment co-chairman Alan Bergman said at a recent Moana 2 screening in Los Angeles.
The figures also showed Hollywood had rebounded from disruptions caused by strikes by writers and actors in 2023. Chains such as AMC Entertainment and Cineworld were left with a thin schedule for moviegoers in the first half of 2024.
Wicked, the adaptation of a beloved Broadway musical that is a prequel to The Wizard Of Oz (1939), brought in US$117.5 million over Thanksgiving. Its global total after two weekends in cinemas reached US$359.2 million, distributor Universal Pictures said.
Paramount Pictures’ action epic Gladiator II, the sequel to a Best Picture winner in 2000, hauled in US$44 million over the holiday in North America and brought its global total to US$320 million.
Before the weekend, year-to-date domestic ticket sales had hovered nearly 11 per cent behind the same point in 2023, according to data from media analytics firm Comscore. The Thanksgiving tally narrowed the deficit to 6.4 per cent.
Still, the receipts remained significantly below pre-pandemic levels. Through Dec 1, North American ticket sales for 2024 were roughly 24 per cent lower than the pace of 2019.
Mr Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore, said the frenzy at cinemas over the weekend would likely fuel strong sales in the coming weeks. He cited a number of potential hits reaching cinemas in December to “help the industry take the year out on a high note”.
They include Kraven The Hunter, the animated Lord Of The Rings: The War Of The Rohirrim, Sonic The Hedgehog 3 and Mufasa: The Lion King, he said. REUTERS
