‘Moana 2’ sails to $386 million, second-biggest global debut of 2024 behind ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’

Disney’s “Moana 2” sailed to $386 million at the global box office, including a mighty $165.3 million internationally.

Ticket sales for the animated family film stand as the second-biggest worldwide opening of the year after Disney’s billion-dollar Marvel behemoth “Deadpool &Wolverine” ($438 million). The sequel to 2016’s musical hit “Moana” got a jumpstart on the weekend by landing in North American theaters on Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving. The follow-up film generated $300.8 million globally over the traditional weekend.

At the domestic box office, “Moana 2” shattered Thanksgiving box office records with $221 million over the five-day holiday frame, overtaking the high-water mark set by 2019’s “Frozen II” ($125 million). Overseas, the second “Moana” installment powered to No. 1 in every market aside from China (where a local title reigned supreme). Top-earning territories were France with $18.8 million, the United Kingdom with $15.5 million, Mexico with $11.1 million, Germany with $10.5 million, Italy with $9.3 million and Korea with $9.1 million.

“Moana 2” was originally commissioned as a television show for Disney+ before it was retooled into a theatrical feature film. Auli’i Cravalho and Dwayne Johnson reprise their voice roles as the eponymous heroine (who is not a princess) and the tattooed demigod Maui in the sequel, which picks up as Moana journeys far into the ocean to find a hidden island and break a curse.

Elsewhere, “Wicked” added $29 million from 61 markets, bringing its international tally to $97 million. Universal’s big-budget adaptation of the hit musical has been far more popu-lar in North America with $262 million to date, already ranking as the highest-grossing domestic Broadway adaptation of all time ahead of 1978’s “Grease” ($188.62 million). With $359.2 million globally, “Wicked” is the fourth-biggest Broadway adaptation in history behind 2008’s “Mamma Mia” ($611 million), 2012’s “Les Miserables” ($442 million) and “Grease” ($396 million). “Wicked” is the first of the two-part saga (the second installment lands on the big screen in 2025), each of which carry a $150 million price tag before marketing.

Paramount’s “Gladiator II” collected $27.2 million in its third frame at the international box office, boosting its tally to $208.8 million. The long-awaited sequel to Ridley Scott’s Oscar-winning 2000 epic “Gladiator” has grossed $111.2 million domestically and $320 million globally so far. The R-rated tentpole also carries a massive budget — this one above $250 million before promotional efforts — so “Gladiator II” needs to remain in the global box office arena through the holidays to justify its cost.