Stars are aligning for Disney’s ‘ Moana’
The animated ocean adventure again lands at No. 1 at box office
Moana is queen of the box office once again.
Disney’s South Pacific- set adventure sailed to an easy No. 1 in its second weekend with $ 28.4 million, bringing its total to $ 119.9 million, according to studio estimates from tracking firm comScore.
The animated film features the voices of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and newcomer Auli’i Cravalho, along with original music co- written by Hamilton creator Lin- Manuel-Miranda. Its box office performance mirrors that of Disney’s musical phenomenon Frozen, which brought in $ 31.6 million its second weekend in December 2013 on its way to $ 400.7 million.
“Moana has truly struck an emotional chord with audiences and at this point is giving Frozen a run for its money,” says Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for comScore. The movie has “benefited from a combination of Dwayne Johnson’s considerable star power, an irresistible concept, a great marketing campaign and a perfect release date.”
In second place, Harry Potter spinoff Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them continued to work magic with $ 18.5million for a healthy $ 183.5million in three weeks. The PG- 13 fantasy film— the first in a planned five- movie franchise — is written by Harry Potter author J. K. Rowling and stars Eddie Redmayne as a “magizoologist” in 1920s New York City.
Sci- fi drama Arrival continued to be a strong word- of- mouth hit in its fourth weekend, dropping just 36% for third place and $ 7.3 million ($ 73.1 million total).
The awards hopeful stars Amy Adams as a linguist tasked with talking to aliens and is bolstered by strong reviews ( 93% positive from critics on aggregate review site RottenTomatoes.com).
“Arrival has maintained that ‘ mustsee’ vibe that’s reminiscent of its sci- fi brethren The Martian and Gravity,” Dergarabedian says.
At No. 4, Brad Pitt’s Allied had an OK hold with $ 7.1 million, dropping 44% after opening over Thanksgiving. But with only $ 28.9million total, Robert Zemeckis’ World War II- era spy drama still has a long way to go to recoup its $ 85 million budget.
Disney/ Marvel’s Doctor Strange rounds out the top five with $ 6.5 million for fifth place, amassing $ 215.3 million in five weeks. The superhero blockbuster starring Benedict Cumberbatch has tallied $ 635million worldwide.
In limited release, Jackie stunned with $ 275,000 in five theaters in New York and Los Angeles and a per- screen average of $ 55,000. The awards hopeful, starring Natalie Portman as former first lady Jackie Kennedy, opens in Washington, San Francisco, Boston and Phoenix next weekend.
Final numbers are expected Monday.