Moana 2
One of the most anticipated movies left to release in 2024 isMoana 2, the sequel to Disney Animation Studios' 2016 hitMoana.Moana 2boasts the same great castfrom the first film, telling a brand-new story that is shaping up to be a big hit for Disney.
With a couple oftrailers released,Moana 2is already turning heads, and, in a year that has been inundated with great animated projects,Moana 2seems like it will only continue that trend.
However, this film is not just the sequel to Disney’s 2016 hit, asMoana 2changes how Disney Animation Studios has operated, and precipitates the beginning of a new age for the classic company.
As a studio that has been around for almost a hundred years, they have operated in a very similar way for the majority of their existence, and only now,with the shifts in the media landscape in recent years, their strategy seems to be substantially changing, andMoana 2is just the beginning.
Moana 2 Is The Start Of Disney’s New Sequel Trend
Their Upcoming Slate Features More Of The Same
Moana 2is one of Disney’s few sequel films, joining the ranks ofRalph Breaks the InternetandFrozen 2as direct theatrical Disney sequels.
While historically, Disney has released their movies as one-off explorations of entirely new worlds and characters, their upcoming slate seems to indicate that will be changing.
Image via Disney
With their next two movies beingZootopia 2andFrozen 3,Disney seems to be attempting to move into a more sequel and franchise-driven direction, continuing the stories of some of their most popular projects in place of creating brand-new IP.
Disney clearly wants to continue raking in money withFrozen 3,and they are positioningZootopia 2to emulate the success of the original’s $1.023 billion dollar box office run.
Disney’s sequel push seems to stem from the massive,record-breaking success ofFrozen 2, making $1.462 billion dollars, surpassing the originalFrozen’s $1.306 billion and becoming the highest grossing animated movie of all time untilInside Out 2.
Moana 2 is the sequel to the 2016 animated film Moana. Directed by David G. Derrick Jr., Jason Hand, and Dana Ledoux Miller, the film continues the journey of Moana as she embarks on new adventures, exploring the vast Pacific Ocean while encountering new characters and challenges along the way.
Disney clearly wants to continue raking in money withFrozen 3,and they are positioningZootopia 2to emulate the success of the original’s $1.023 billion dollar box office run.Moanawas a slightly milder success, making $687 million, andwithMoana 2, the outcome of Disney’s new sequel experiments will become clearer.
Moana 2 Has The Potential To Become A Massive Success
Sequels To Beloved Animated Movies Are In
2024 was a pretty crazy year for animated movies, with plenty of releases that will be counted among the biggest movies of the year.Inside Out 2became the highest-grossing animated movie of all time with a record-shattering $1.673 billion,Despicable Me 4continued the franchise’s success with $961 million,Kung Fu Panda 4brought the franchise over the $2 billion mark,The Garfield Moviewas a success, andThe Wild Robotmade enough to warrant a sequel.2024 has been a banner year for animated movies, and it seems unlikely that success will stall.
The introduction of one key character in Moana 2 seem to be Disney’s way of setting up Moana 3, continuing the story in a new yet familiar way.
ConsideringMoana 2is releasing in a year with all these successes, it seems nearly impossible for the film to not stand there with them.
With the unfortunate exception ofTransformers Oneat the box office, all of these big studio animated films have done extremely well, and, the one thing in common with the top 4 is thatthey are all sequels or parts of a huge franchise.Moanawas already adored when it was released, and in the years since it has become a modern classic, soMoana 2seems like it will be the surefire hitthat Disney needs.
Disney Animation Studios Has Had A Rough Few Years
Their Last Few Projects Have Not Moved The Needle
Despite The Walt Disney Company’s major successes recently, in the past few years Disney Animation Studios itself has been in a rough spot.
Only one of the company’s projects after the wild success ofFrozen 2was able to make much of an impact, andEncantowould still likely be qualified as a moderate success, not making much during its initial box office run, although itsstreaming release did bringEncantothe success it deserved.
Disney Animation Studios Film
Budget
Worldwide Box Office
Raya and the Last Dragon
$100 million
$130.4 million
Encanto
$120-150 million
$261.1 million
Strange World
$135-180 million
$73.6 million
Wish
$175-200 million
$254.9 million
However,Encantohas been the studio’s lone bright spot in four years.Raya and the Last Dragonreviewed pretty solidly, but underperformed at the box office, as it released simultaneously on Disney+.Strange Worldmassively bombeddespite reviewing decently, andWishneither reviewed well nor performed well at the box office.
With these recent issues, Disney’s reliance on sequels for their upcoming movies seems understandable, and the outcome ofMoana 2will certainly illuminate the company’s path forward.
Your Rating
Your comment has not been saved
Cast
Moana 2 is the sequel to the 2016 animated film Moana.
Directed by David G. Derrick Jr., Jason Hand, and Dana Ledoux Miller, the film continues the journey of Moana as she embarks on new adventures, exploring the vast Pacific Ocean while encountering new characters and challenges along the way.
