MOANA Charts Way to the Top of the Box Office

There's just no telling how far she'll go! Moana, the latest Disney heroine, has rapidly found her footing among fellow Disney rulers; the film bearing her name (and featuring music and lyrics by Broadway's Lin-Manuel Miranda) swept past Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them to claim the largest box office gross over the weekend. According to Variety, this places Moana third on the list of biggest 3-day Thanksgiving movie releases, just behind Frozen and Toy Story 2. Moana's total gross has reached a towering $81.1, putting the movie in the race alongside Frozen to become one of Disney's most successful titles of all time.

From Walt Disney Animation Studios, MOANA is a sweeping, CG-animated feature film about an adventurous teenager who is inspired to leave the safety and security of her island on a daring journey to save her people. Inexplicably drawn to the ocean, Moana (voice of Auli'i Cravalho) convinces the mighty demigod Maui (voice of Dwayne Johnson) to join her mission, and he reluctantly helps her become a wayfinder like her ancestors who sailed before her. Together, they voyage across the open ocean on an action-packed adventure, encountering enormous monsters and impossible odds, and along the way, Moana fulfills her quest and discovers the one thing she's always sought: her own identity.

For the original Variety article, click here.