Moana 2 Crosses $1 Billion at Worldwide Box Office

Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: A Disney-distributed sequel has crossed a billion dollars at the global box office. Disney’s various studios have delivered quite a few films to the $1 billion club, with Moana 2 being the latest adventure to cross the infamous threshold. Over the weekend, nearly two months after its Thanksgiving debut, Moana 2 has officially made more than $1 billion at the box office.

Per Deadline, Moana 2‘s global theatrical gross now stands at $1.01 billion. It’s the third movie released in 2024 to hit the famed milestone, joining the likes of Inside Out 2 and Deadpool & Wolverine. Disney was the only studio to have a film gross $1 billion or more in 2024, and all three films to do so were sequels to previously popular movies.

Over the years, Disney has set itself apart as the most prolific contributor to the $1 billion box office club. Moana 2 is the 56th movie to ever hit the milestone at the global box office and the 32nd from Disney. That means Disney has more then two-thirds of the entire lineup.

With that kind of massive success, it may come as a surprise to learn that only four of those $1 billion earners from Disney came from Disney Animation Studios. Prior to Moana 2, the only titles from Disney Animation to hit $1 billion were Frozen, Frozen II, and Zootopia.

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It’s ironic that Zootopia sits on that list with Moana 2, given the relationship between the former and the original Moana. Both Moana and Zootopia were released in 2016. Zootopia outshined Moana at the box office and, surprisingly, took home the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. In the years that followed, however, Moana established itself as the big winner amongst movie fans, creating a lasting life for itself on home video and streaming, with music that has remained immensely popular. That love for Moana is reflected in the Moana 2 box office, which has outgrossed that of its predecessor despite lackluster reviews.

It’ll now be interesting to see if the massive success of Moana 2 can carry over into the live-action adaptation of Moana that Disney currently has in the works. From Hamilton director Thomas Kail, the live-action Moana will see Dwayne Johnson reprise his role as Maui and is set to hit theaters in 2026. So far, only two of Disney’s “live-action” takes on their animated classics have managed to hit the $1 billion mark at the box office: The Lion King and Aladdin

You can still catch Moana 2 in theaters everywhere. Disney hasn’t yet announced a home release date.