Moana 2 backs up common streaming complaint after crossing $1bn at box office
Share:
Film has been a huge hit for Disney, after initially being developed as a streaming series. Disney fans have hailed the box office success of Moana 2 as proof that major studios such as Disney need a change their strategy for straight-to-streaming releases.
The film, a sequel to the 2016 children’s animation Moana, passed the billion-dollar mark this weekend, having earned $445m (£366m) in the US and $567m (£466) internationally, for a total of $1.009bn (£828m) globally. While Moana 2 has been a huge hit for Disney, the film was originally supposed to be released directly onto Disney+, the studio’s streaming platform. Midway through production, it was decided that the project, at the time intended to take the form of a multi-episode TV series, should instead be re-tooled into a film, and released theatrically.
Moana 2 is one of three Disney-produced films released last year to cross the one-billion mark at the box office, after Inside Out 2 and Deadpool & Wolverine. In recent years, distributors including Disney and Netflix have been criticised for refusing to give wide theatrical releases to many high-profile films. Fans have cited Moana 2’s success as evidence that studios need to stop prioritising straight-to-streaming releases.
“I skipped Moana 2 as I thought it looked awful but this is good news,” one person wrote. “A movie originally meant for streaming went theatrical and made a ton of money. It encourages studios to shy away from streaming.”. “Considering that Moana 2 was intended to be a direct to streaming movie that was made into a theatrical release later into production, it’s interesting it’s crossed over $1 billion at the box office,” another person wrote.
