Moana 2 Opens To Spectacular Wednesday Total of $66+ Million Globally But Reviews Are Mixed

Disney’s “Moana 2” opened on Wednesday and has done incredibly well, earning over $57 million domestically and over $66 million globally. On Thursday, the film earned another $28 million domestically, bringing its total to $85.5 million.

Internationally, the film opened in only 10 markets on Wednesday, but more were added on Thursday, and China and the UK will be added on Friday. The film is expected to earn over $100 million in the international market this weekend (excluding the domestic market.)

Where did “Moana 2” come from?

“Moana 2” was only announced in February of this year.

It was one of Disney CEO Bob Iger’s sudden announcements during the proxy battle with Nelson Peltz. At the time Iger announced several “hail Mary” pass ideas to retain his board members and avoid seats being given to the “activist investor.”

“Moana 2” was meant to be a Disney+ show until it was suddenly repurposed as a film. Iger said “Moana” was the top streaming film so they decided to use what they had instead of simply creating a new film from scratch. The show’s voice actors were replaced by the original voice actors, and new songs were added.

“Moana 2 Reviews”

While the film is performing well at the box office, the reviews have been mixed.

Some claim the film was fantastic, but I’m seeing more saying that you could tell it was meant to be a television show.

Currently, on Rotten Tomatoes, critics have the film at 65% while audiences have it at 87%.

Here are some of the Critical reviews:

(Some are “fresh” and some are “rotten”)

“Everything about this clammy continuation sings cynical cash-in.” – Eric Marchen, Rogers TV.

“I’d be less aggravated if this film were more than mediocre. While the animation is often stunning, the overall result is a throwback to those inferior direct-to-video sequels Disney used to churn out for “The Lion King” and “Aladdin.” – Odie Hendersen, Boston Globe.

“Moana 2 is the return to form for the style of animation Disney is known for, but its story and songs fail to venture beyond shallow waters.” – Alan Ng, Film Threat.

“I kept wishing for a better balance between story and action. Also, it takes much too long to reunite Maui and Moana. So, this is not top-level Disney, but if Moana gets a bit lost in this chapter, we will wait for her to find her way.” – Nell Minow, Movie Mom.

“Moana 2” is more of an action movie with a few accidental musical numbers of varying quality.” -Michael Phillips, The Chicago Tribune.

“Moana 2 seems more like a consumer product, in some subtle but unmistakable way, than the first film did.” – Dana Stevens, Slate.

“The overall sentiment seems to be something like Sequel 101: You loved the first movie, so here’s a second movie that’s a lot like the first movie. This is the good news if that’s what you’re after. If not, well: It’s one hour and 40 minutes.” – David Fear, Rolling Stone.

“The songs aren’t the problem. Rather, it’s the muddled story, which takes way too long to give Moana her mission.” -Chris Klimek, The Washington Post.

“Moana’s musical numbers were its greatest strength; Moana 2’s musical numbers are its biggest weakness.” Matt Singer, ScreenCrush.

“While some of the elements still manage to get a laugh here, the world we were introduced to eight years ago doesn’t feel richer or more exciting.” – Carlos Aguilar, IGN Movies.

Audience Reviews

“Underwhelming. Songs are bad. Basically the same movie as the original.” – Matt B.

“A good sequel but not great. Moana 2 delivers a strange message about getting lost that can easily be misinterpreted to the younger audience. Still great visuals especially in 3D and even more so in 4DX keeps it moving without any lag or boredom. Its fun ride with some bumps in the road.” – Michael F.

“Disliked- The songs werent as catchy. It wasnt as culturally connected as the first part. It wasnt emotional. Like- animation was nice. Storyline was good.” – Meke.

“Excited to take the family to see this because we enjoyed Moana. I can honestly say this is the first Disney movie Ive seen where I didnt enjoy any of the songs. Also the story was weak and made no sense. Terrible.” – Danny.

“Slow beginning. Too much singing without storytelling. Gets better towards the end but never gets to see the antagonist other than tornadoes and lightning. This movie is made for the sake of making it. Should have just left Moana as one and only. Disney is once again trying to eek out profit from every successful movie and ruining it.” -ook.

“I loved the first Moana, but the backstory behind everything in Moana 2 put this movie a step above the first one!” – Stephanie H.

“Moana2 was a fun watch but I feel like the most of the main important story plots get rushed the movie doesnt take time to breathe but it wasnt bad in all means but Im excited to see what they have for a future film but knowing it supposed a show I think that why it was rush .” – Sophia.

Personally I have heard more people say it felt more like a rushed Disney+ show than a film, but the animation is mostly praised. Another big complaint was the quality of the songs.

Given that the film was a show that was reworked and rushed out as a film make these critiques seem more valid. I also think that the first film was so beloved and the songs so great that it’s hard to follow.

Have you seen the film? What do you think? Comment and let us know!