The Thanksgiving holiday is often a big one for Hollywood, with studios rolling out some of its most highly-anticipated movies to take advantage of the long holiday weekend. This year is no different, with Disney debuting its new princessMoanain theaters, with many projecting it to take theThanksgiving box officecrown this weekend. The animated adventure is already off to a good start, breaking a Tuesday box office record with $2.6 million.
The Wrapreports thatMoanadoubled the previous Tuesday record set by anotherDisney animatedmovie,The Good Dinosaur, which pulled in a then-record $1.3 million in the same frame last year.Moanaalso earned more than the Thursday night preview screenings for recent animated hits such asZootopia($1.7 million) andFrozen($1.2 million). Box office analysts are predicting thatMoanacould earn between $70 million and $80 million for the five-day holiday weekend.
Moanawas produced under a whopping $150 million budget, so if it can hit this opening weekend projection, it will take in roughly half of its massive budget.Moanais Disney’s 56th animated feature, which is already a big hit with critics, scoring an impressive 99% on Rotten Tomatoes.Ron ClementsandJohn Musker(The Little Mermaid,The Princess and the Frog,Aladdin) are directingMoanafrom their own screenplay, withOsnat Shurer(Oscar-nominated Pixar shortsOne Man Band,Boundin) producing. The music will be composed by Tony-winnerLin-Manuel Miranda(Broadway’sHamilton, Tony-winningIn the Heights), Grammy-winning composerMark Mancina(Speed,Tarzan,The Lion King) andOpetaia Foa’i(founder and lead singer of the world music award-winning bandTe Vaka).
In the ancient South Pacific world of Oceania,Moana, a born navigator, sets sail in search of a fabled island. During her incredible journey, she teams up with her hero, the legendary demi-god Maui, to traverse the open ocean on an action-packed voyage, encountering enormous sea creatures, breathtaking underworlds and ancient folklore.Dwayne Johnsonleads the voice cast as Maui, with newcomerAuli’i Cravalhovoicing the title character. The supporting voice cast is rounded out byAlan Tudykas Heihei,Nicole Scherzingeras Sina andJemaine Clementas Tamatoa.
While this movie certainly looks to be another big hit for Disney this year, there was a bit of controversy swirling around this project earlier this year. Disney came under fire for aPolynesian Halloween costumethat the studio pulled off the shelves after several advocates spoke out against it. The costume in question depicted the likeness ofDwayne Johnson’s Maui. The brown outfit was fitted with long sleeves and pants that featured full-body tattoos. Those critical of the costume claimed it was wrong to have a child dress in the skin color of another race, with some claiming it to be worse than “Black face.”
Moanawill go up against Paramount’sAllied, starringBrad Pitt, Broad Green Pictures’Bad Santa 2starringBilly Bob ThorntonandRules Don’t ApplystarringAlden Ehrenreichover the holiday weekend. As of now, Pixar’sFinding Doryis the highest-grossing animated movie this year with $1.026 billion, with Disney’sZootopiajust behind it with $1.023 billion. Check back on Sunday to see howMoanafares at the box office over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.
