“Moana 2” stormed into the box office on Tuesday with $13.8 million in preview screenings, making it the biggest preview success in history for Disney Animation. It’s also the largest pre-Thanksgiving preview number and the second-best preview number ever for an animated title.

Compared to Disney’s other animated films, “Inside Out 2” grossed $13 million in Thursday previews in June this year before going on to gross $154 million in its three-day debut. 2019’s “Toy Story 4” grossed $12 million in Thursday previews before grossing $121 million on release, while 2019’s “Frozen II.” grossed $8.5 million in previews on the Thursday before the sendoff, increasing to $130 million the weekend before Thanksgiving. The 2018 Pixar sequel “Incredibles 2,” which holds the record for the biggest debut for an animated film, grossed $18.5 million in Thursday previews before opening to a whopping $183 million over the weekend. Dollar started.

Preview screenings for “Moana 2” began Tuesday at 2 p.m. Disney’s musical sequel officially opens Wednesday and is estimated to gross at least $135 million to $145 million in its first five days in theaters. These ticket sales represented the largest Thanksgiving purchase, surpassing the record set by 2013’s “Frozen II” ($125 million in five days) and “Hunger Games: Catching Fire” ($109 million in five days). .

Studio and theater owners are particularly grateful for the windfall that “Moana 2” will bring, as the sequel to the Polynesian adventure was developed as a television show for Disney+ before being adapted into a feature film.

Reviews have been mixed, with an average of 67% on Rotten Tomatoes, but critical sentiment doesn’t always play a role in family film engagement. Auli’i Cravalho and Dwayne Johnson reprise their voice roles as the titular heroine (who is not a princess) and tattooed demigod Maui in the sequel, which begins with Moana traveling far into the ocean to find a hidden island and break a curse. Lin-Manuel Miranda, who wrote catchy tunes like “How Far I’ll Go” and “You’re Welcome” for the first film, did not return for the second, instead handing over songwriting duties to Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear Duo “The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical.”

With “Wicked” and “Gladiator II” also drawing big audiences over the holiday, this is expected to be one of the biggest Thanksgiving box office festivals of modern times.

“Wicked” added a whopping $16.6 million on Tuesday. Universal’s big-budget musical starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo is expected to gross $60 million in its traditional weekend (down about 50% from its record opening of $114 million) and at least $80 million over the five days US dollars. To date, it has earned $144.9 million domestically and $195 million worldwide.

Meanwhile, “Gladiator II” collected $6.6 million on Tuesday. Paramount’s even bigger-budget tentpole aims to bring in $33 million from North American theaters over the traditional weekend (down 44% from its $55.5 million debut) and $45 million between Wednesday and Sunday. The sequel to 2000’s “Gladiator” has grossed $67.2 million domestically and $232 million worldwide.