Disney ended what has been an excellent comeback year on a high, with Mufasa: The Lion King topping the domestic box office on New Year’s Eve, and Moana 2 retaining a spot in the top five. The animated sequel generated $4 million on December 31, having already hit the $400 million mark a day earlier. The movie has now broken into the list of the top 10 highest-grossing animated hits of all time — a remarkable achievement, considering the competitive marketplace and lukewarm reviews.

With $404 million domestically so far, the film has overtaken Frozen’s $400 million lifetime haul to become the 10th-biggest animated film of all time domestically. The list is topped by fellow 2024 release Inside Out 2, which concluded its run with over $650 million domestically. With a projected final haul of around $470 million, Moana 2 will likely overtake films such as Toy Story 3 and The Lion King to eventually claim the sixth spot on the all-time list.

Globally, the film is passing the $900 million mark as we speak, and is all set to hit the coveted $1 billion milestone. On its way, it will overtake Despicable Me 4’s $961 million lifetime haul to become the second-biggest animated hit of 2024 behind Inside Out 2. On the all-time global list of the highest-grossing animated movies, Moana 2 is ranked 18, behind Shrek 2 and ahead of Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs.

A Live-Action Remake of the First ‘Moana’ Is Currently In Production

Moana 2 is currently the fourth-biggest hit of 2024 domestically, behind Wicked and ahead of Despicable Me 4. On the 2024 global charts, it ranks fourth as well. Produced on a reported budget of $150 million, the movie serves as a sequel to 2016’s Moana, which made just under $690 million worldwide in its lifetime run. The original Moana was a critical hit as well, earning an Oscar nomination in the Best Animated Feature category. It also holds a “fresh” 96% rating on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes. By comparison, Moana 2 holds a borderline “fresh” 61% score.

This doesn’t seem to have affected the film’s commercial performance, thanks to the first film’s growing goodwill on streaming in the past few years. Disney recognized this, and revoked its original plans of continuing the franchise as a streaming series. Featuring the voices of Auli’i Cravalho and Dwayne Johnson, Moana 2 is playing in theaters. A live-action remake of the first film is also in production.

via Collider