By Zainab Shafiq 
Disney’s “Moana 2” broke waves at global box offices, amassing an estimated $368 million as of Sunday. The animation sequel featuring Dwayne Johnson as Maui and Auli’i Cravalho as Moana led the charge in what happened to be the biggest Thanksgiving weekend ever for U.S. and Canadian theaters depicting Moana 2 success.
The film, telling a story of Moana and Maui’s quest to break a curse and reunite the ocean’s people, took in $221 million in domestic ticket sales alone. That smashed the Thanksgiving record of $125 million set by “Frozen 2” in 2019. Worldwide, the total amount of ticket sales for all films reached $420 million, more than the record set in 2018 at $315.6 million.
Hollywood studios and cinemas are marking the occasion that follows the pandemic-induced closure period and streaming services drawing people out of the cinemas. Walt Disney Entertainment Co-Chairman Alan Bergman, “If you make an emotional, funny movie people care about, they’ll come to the theatres.”
Other Thanksgiving winners apart from Moana 2
The other Thanksgiving winners were Universal’s “Wicked,” with $117.5 million domestic and a worldwide total of $359.2 million, and Paramount’s “Gladiator II,” with $44 million domestic and $320 million internationally.
The weekend’s success comes amid a gradual rebound for the film industry, still recovering from pandemic-related disruptions and the writers’ and actors’ strikes of 2023. While domestic ticket sales for 2024 remain 24% below pre-pandemic levels, the strong Thanksgiving performance narrowed the year-to-date deficit to 6.4%.
Industry insiders say that this streak will be maintained with such December releases as “Kraven the Hunter”, “Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim”, and “Mufasa: The Lion King”.