Moana 2 had a demigod-like opening over the weekend, shattering multiple records and, along with a couple of other blockbusters, fueling the biggest Thanksgiving weekend at the box office of all time.
The Disney sequel opened on November 27, at the top of the long weekend for those in the U.S., and soared past estimates that had it debuting to $125 million-$135 million. Despite mixed reviews, it released to a massive $221 million domestically over five days and $386 million globally, per numbers from the studio and Comscore.
In a press release on Sunday, Disney put into perspective just how many records that opening shattered. Moana 2 had the biggest five-day opening of all time (passing The Super Mario Bros. Movie at $205.6 million), the biggest Thanksgiving debut and Thanksgiving weekend, the highest-grossing Thanksgiving day, and the biggest Black Friday ever. That $386 million number also makes it the second-biggest global debut of 2024, just behind Deadpool & Wolverine's $438 million opening.
It's the latest in what's been something of a redemption year for Disney, marking the third film this year from the studio to open to more than $150 million domestically after Deadpool & Wolverine and Inside Out 2. Disney's box office was more muted last year, failing to have any movie cross the $1 billion mark. This year, it already has two billion-dollar hits with Deadpool & Wolverine and Inside Out 2. With Moana 2, we still don't know how far it'll go, but it's off to a stunning start.
And though Moana 2 was #1 over the long weekend, the real winner really is the box office at large. While families turned out in droves to see the animated sequel, "Glicked" — aka., the double whammy of Wicked and Gladiator II — still proved to be a force in its second weekend. Wicked brought in another $117.5 million over the weekend, bringing its domestic total so far to $262.42 million and its global cume to $359.2 million after 10 days in theaters.
Gladiator II, meanwhile, also continued to perform solidly, with $44 million over the weekend to bring its totals to $111.2 million domestically and $320 million worldwide.
For those keeping track, that winning trifecta pushed the box office to more than $425 million. That soars past the previous highest-grossing Thanksgiving weekend in 2018, which saw Ralph Breaks the Internet, Creed II, and Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald bring in a combined $315 million.
The year has a number of other potentially big movies in Kraven the Hunter, Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Mufasa: The Lion King, Nosferatu, and more, so we'll see how Moana 2, Wicked, and Gladiator 2 fare against the competition moving forward. For more in the meantime, check out our roundup of every upcoming Disney and Pixar movie.
Alex Stedman is a Senior News Editor with IGN, overseeing entertainment reporting. When she's not writing or editing, you can find her reading fantasy novels or playing Dungeons & Dragons.
