Disney looks to smash its own Thanksgiving opening records when Moana 2 lands in theaters on Wednesday, November 27th. The sequel to 2016’s musical adventure is directed by David Derrick Jr., Jason Hand, and Dana Ledoux Miller. Auli’i Cravalho, Dwayne Johnson, Temuera Morrison, Nicole Scherzinger, Rachel House, and Alan Tudyk reprise their voiceover work. Klaheesi Lambert-Tsuda, Rose Matafeo, and David Fane are new faces behind the mic.
Eight Turkey years ago, Moana took in $248 million domestically. It set the all-time Friday to Sunday opening Thanksgiving frame high mark with $56.6 million and that record still stands. Ralph Breaks the Internet from the Mouse Factory holds the five-day best of premiere at $84.7 million (just edging Moana‘s $82 million). Moana 2 seems poised to rather easily surpass those figures.
The follow-up is additionally looking to top Frozen II‘s largest three and five-day grosses for any picture over the holiday. That would be $85.9 million and $125 million, respectively. I don’t think that’s a guarantee, but part 1 is well-regarded enough that I think it gets there with some room to spare.
Moana 2 opening weekend prediction: $92.1 million (Friday to Sunday); $130.3 million (Wednesday to Monday)