Moana 2's opening weekend box office smashing expectations worldwide.

Walt Disney Animation's sequel to 2016's Moana became the go-to movie for families over the record holiday as it earned $389.2 million worldwide over the five-day extended weekend - attributing to 2024's record Thanksgiving box office. $225.4 million of this total came domestically ($137.9 million during the traditional three-day weekend window), while the remaining $163.8 million came internationally. That was more than enough to break multiple records and go well above the original film's opening of $56 million. Moana 2's opening weekend is impressive all by itself, but it's an even bigger deal for the franchise's standing overall.

Moana Is Officially A $1 Billion Franchise After Moana 2's Opening Weekend Box Office

The Franchise's Combined Box Office Total Reached New Heights

The performance of Moana 2 in its opening weekend solidifies Moana's place as a $1 billion franchise. The original movie was a favorite of families in 2016 thanks to its catchy soundtrack and emotional new adventure led by tremendous and exciting fresh characters. Moana was able to make $643.3 million worldwide at the box office as a result of the high interest in Moana and Maui's journey. The film split its box office revenue reasonably evenly, as $248.7 million was domestic and $394.5 million was from international countries. That left the franchise $356 million away from the $1 billion milestone.

There was never much doubt that Moana 2 would be able to make over $356 million at the box office and vault the franchise into this new territory. However, doing that in just the film's first weekend of playing in theaters was not expected. Box office projections for Moana 2 started out quite modestly, around $100 million domestically, before momentum continued to grow. Moana 2's opening weekend ultimately exceeded the necessary amount to give Disney a new $1 billion animated franchise by over $30 million - and the franchise total will only continue to climb from here.

Moana 2's New Box Office Record Is Rare For Disney's Animated Franchises

Disney Doesn't Have That Many $1 Billion Animated Franchises

Walt Disney Animation Studios can now count Moana 2 among its $1 billion animated movie franchises as a result of the sequel's performance. While Disney at large is no stranger to having billion-dollar franchises, Disney's original animated studio is not quite as used to it. Before Moana ed the club, only Frozen and Wreck-It Ralph would count as Disney animated franchises with over $1 billion in total gross at the box office. Zootopia will that list in 2025 once Zootopia 2 comes out since the first film sured the mark all by itself.

The Lion King is technically a $1 billion franchise, although that counts the 2019 "live-action" movie that Walt Disney Animation Studios was not involved in

Disney's ability to call Moana a $1 billion animated franchise brings Walt Disney Animation Studios closer to being in the same league as Pixar. The heralded animated studio that Disney acquired in 2006 has twice as many $1 billion animated franchises thanks to all six of its franchises - Toy Story, Finding Dory, The Incredibles, Cars, Inside Out, and Monsters, Inc. - suring that milestone. Moana 2's box office puts the Moana franchise in elite company.