Summary
Moana 2’s trailer has set an exciting new record, continuing Disney’s promising sequel trend. The upcoming movie, which will hit theaters on June 29, 2025, dropped its first full trailer in May, revealing a few of the moments audiences have to look forward to. The clip sufficiently did its job, and the world of social media has been abuzz with anticipation for Moana and Maui’s return to the big screen. This is great news for Disney, which has struggled to please audiences with its recent releases, butlike other sequels before it,Moana 2is likely to turn things around.
Moana 2’s trailersees the titular hero (who has a whole new look) set out from her island home again, this time in search of more human settlements across the ocean. A voiceover from Moana actor Auliʻi Cravalho can be heard saying, “This is a call from the ancestors to sail to new skies and reconnect our people across the entire ocean.” Of course, this means exciting new adventures, and, likely, characters are coming inMoana 2, and Dwayne Johnson’s Maui is back in on the action as well. It’s certainly a promising trailer and a record-breaking one at that.
Disney’s Moana Sequel Calls Out A Hilarious Plot Hole From The First Movie
The first teaser trailer for Moana 2 was recently released and it includes one hilarious joke about a major Pua plot hole from the original 2016 film.
Moana 2’s Trailer Has Broken The Record For Most Views In 24 Hours For An Animated Movie
Moana 2 Dethroned Inside Out 2’s Trailer Record
In the first 24 hours after its release, theMoana 2trailer received 178 million viewsacross YouTube, Twitter, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat. These figures made it the new record holder for the most viewed trailer for an animated movie within this timeframe. Overall, this is a sign that Disney made the right choice when it changed the format for theMoanasequel from a Disney+ TV show to a feature film.So much hype over a trailer alone is sure to translate to some tremendous theatrical box-office numbers, which the House of Mouse desperately needs.
Disney’s last few movies have fallen flat at the box office. The once golden child of animation has struggled to come back after COVID-19 closures and movies likeElementalandWishwere regarded as theatrical flops. So, the company has shifted its focus to sequels likeMoana 2,elevating the project from a TV show to a feature film in an effort to redeem itself. Based on the last movies to break the animated trailer viewership record, this was a good call.
Disney CEO Bob Iger said that, after watching clips from the plannedMoanasequel series, he and his fellow execs decided that the project looked too good not to get a theatrical release.
The Last 3 Animated Movies To Break This Same Record Were Disney Sequels
Disney Sequels Are Consistently Performing Well
BeforeMoana 2snatched the record for most viewed animated trailer within 24 hours, it was held byInside Out 2, another Disney sequel. The Pixar film gained an impressive 157 million views in this window, dethroningFrozen 2’s trailer (116 million views in 24 hours). Before this, the record was held by the trailer forIncredibles 2, which managed 113 million views in 24 hours when it dropped six years ago. This trend speaks volumes about Disney sequels and their popularity.
178 million
157 million
116 million
Incredibles 2
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Incredibles 2made $1.2 billion at the global box office, which is no surprise considering the success of its trailer alone. Then, just asFrozen 2’s trailer raised the bar, the movie did as well, bringing in $1.5 billion globally.Inside Out 2andMoana 2haven’t been released yet, but all signs point to them being even more successful.It seems that Disney has discovered the formula for getting audiences to watch its movies, and this means that more sequels are sure to followMoana 2.
Moana 2’s New Broken Record Means More Disney Sequels Are Sure To Come
Despite Criticism, Disney’s Sequels Aren’t Going Anywhere
Disney has been criticized in recent years for its focus on sequels and live-action remakes. However, the data proves that these projects have been overall more successful than the company’s recent new ideas. IfInside Out 2andMoana 2perform as well as projected, then this is sure to solidify the House of Mouse’s strategy going forward. More sequels are sure to follow, from moreFrozenandIncrediblesmovies to first-time sequels for the company’s stand-alone films. Of course, this can’t replace new ideas entirely.
Disney will need these massively successful sequels to pay the bills, and this will allow the company to get back to the drawing board and figure out why movies like Elemental and Wish were so disappointing.
Disney will need these massively successful sequels to pay the bills, and this will allow the company to get back to the drawing board and figure out why movies likeElementalandWishwere so disappointing.Once this is done, audiences will get brand-new stories and characters, opening the door for broader franchises. For now, we can sit back and enjoy movies likeInside Out 2andMoana 2, knowing that a new Disney movie will soon swoop in and break that trailer record again.
Moana 2
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.
