Disney holds another seasonal hit, ‘Moana’ earned $25.6 million in its first two days of release

Disney holds another seasonal hit, ‘Moana’ earned $25.6 million in its first two days of release

It stands to reason, with the $2.6 million Tuesday previews, that the holiday run for Moana may be slightly frontloaded. But the good news is that Penguins snagged the same 5.7x Wednesday-to-weekend multiplier as The Good Dinosaur and Tangled. So, unless it crashes today, we’re still looking at an over/under $90m five-day debut for the animated adventure.

Photo Source: Disney Movies UK

Walt Disney Co. has another holiday-season hit on its hands.

The studio’s new animated movie “Moana” collected an impressive $25.6 million on Wednesday and Thursday, putting it in the box-office territory of the company’s 2013 juggernaut, “Frozen.” “Moana” is estimated to be about $1 million behind where “Frozen” grosses were at this point in release.

Moana sports glowing reviews and an A CinemaScore. Newcomer Auli'i Cravalho voices the role of the titular heroine, a young princess living in ancient Polynesia who goes in search of a demigod (voiced by Dwayne Johnson). Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote the music with Opetaia Foa'i and Mark Mancina.

Box-office analysts projected a five-day weekend gross for “Moana” in the $85 million range. “Frozen” collected a record-breaking $93.5 million over its five-day Thanksgiving opening, went on to collect $400 million in the U.S. and Canada and provided a windfall in consumer-product sales for the company.