Disney’s latest animated sequel, Moana 2, has recorded an impressive 27.3 million views on Disney+ within its first five days, making it the third most successful Disney Animation theatrical release on the streaming platform.
The film sees Auli’i Cravalho and Dwayne Johnson reprising their roles as Moana and Maui, respectively. It has achieved the biggest Disney Animation debut on Disney+ since Encanto.
The original Moana, released in 2016, remains the platform’s most-watched film, accumulating 1.4 billion hours of streaming since Disney+ launched in 2019, Variety reports.
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Initially planned as a television series, Moana 2 premiered in cinemas on November 28 and surpassed $1 billion in global box office earnings. The sequel was directed by Dana Ledoux Miller, David G Derrick Jr, and Jason Hand.
Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear composed the soundtrack, taking over from Lin-Manuel Miranda, who created the music for the first film. The cast also includes Nicole Scherzinger, Khaleesi Lambert-Tsuda, Rose Matafeo, Temuera Morrison, David Fane, and Hualālai Chung.
Co-director Miller reflected on the cultural significance of Moana, saying she had never experienced a major cinema screening where the voices of her people were represented.
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“I had never walked into a Regal Cinema and heard the voices of my people before. And to have one of them be a Disney princess changes everything. It says, ‘It’s OK to be Polynesian and be strong and adventurous and funny.’ You see yourself reflected on screen and that’s powerful.”