‘Moana 2’ tops $1 billion, extending Disney’s box office domination

The Walt Disney Companyâ€s box office domination continued over the holiday weekend.

“Moana 2â€� topped $1 billion during the Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend, becoming the studioâ€s third 2024 release to reach the coveted benchmark after Marvel Studios†“Deadpool and Wolverineâ€� and Pixarâ€s “Inside Out 2.â€� No other Hollywood studio had a film cross $1 billion last year.

“Moana 2� snared $442.8 million at the domestic box office and $567.1 million in international markets, the company posted over the weekend. It is the fourth film from the Walt Disney Animation arm to surpass $1 billion in ticket sales alongside “Frozen,� “Frozen II� and “Zootopia.�

This feat is another feather in the cap for Disney, which had struggled in the years after the pandemic to gain tractions with its animated releases. Much of the companyâ€s difficulties stemmed, in part, from decisions to debut a handful of animated features directly on its streaming service Disney+. This trained parents to look for new content at home even after theatrical closures ended and films returned to cinemas.

“Inside Out 2â€� not only marked a return to form for Disney, but it helped jumpstart the overall domestic box office in June. It snared more than $650 million domestically and became the first film since Warner Bros′ â€œBarbieâ€� to top $1 billion at the global box office.

It also marked the first time a Pixar or Walt Disney Animation film generated more than $480 million at the global box office since 2019. “Inside Out 2″ ultimately became the highest-grossing film of 2024.

“Deadpool and Wolverine,â€� “Inside Out 2″ and “Moana 2,â€� along with a handful of other theatrical releases, helped Disney reach more than $2.2 billion at the domestic box office last year, accounting for about 25% of the industryâ€s total haul, according to data from Comscore.

With “Moana 2� crossing the billion-dollar mark, Disney now has 32 billion-dollar movies — including three films it acquired when it bought Fox in 2019, according to the company. For context, there have only been 56 films that have topped $1 billion at the global box office, meaning Disney is responsible for nearly 60% of the highest-grossing films in cinematic history.