Disney was already dead set on making sequels, but the opening weekend for Moana 2 will have absolutely cemented that decision.
It’s been no secret that Disney has been planning to “lean on sequels” for a little while now, especially in light of announcements like Frozen 3, Zootopia 2, Incredibles 3, and perhaps most egregious of all, Toy Story 5. Sequels have obviously done incredibly well for Disney this year, with Inside Out 2 taking the top box office spot with almost $1.7 billion, and Deadpool & Wolverine a little further behind that with $1.3 billion in second place. Just over the weekend Moana 2 finally released in cinemas, and despite some simply fine reviews, it has done ridiculously well at the box office – I’m talking biggest film of the year big potentially.
In the first instance, the film took home the record for the highest opening for an animated film worldwide with a box office opening weekend of $386 million across the globe. Inside Out 2’s opening weekend was $294 million, so that’s an increase of about $100 million, and it’ll definitely be thanks to the fact it was Thanksgiving over in the US. Oh, speaking of Thanksgiving, it’s also the biggest opening for a film released over that holiday season in the US ever, in fact it was the biggest Thanksgiving weekend for the film industry ever thanks to the combined efforts of Moana 2, Wicked and Gladiator 2.
Those are some pretty wild records to break, and unfortunately obviously rewards Disney in its intentions to focus on sequels and expanding already established IP. With an opening like that it really is possible that Moana 2 will go on to be the biggest film of the year, so, it really is time to say goodbye to those original Disney films of old. Well, as original as basing most of your films on pre-existing books and stories can be anyway – this is more of a concern for Pixar (we really don’t need Toy Story 5, guys).
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