"Moana" reached an impressive milestone during the post-Thanksgiving holiday weeked. The Disney film even bested the "Harry Potter" spin-off movie "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" with its more than $20 million box office earnings.
Disney's "Moana" continued its steady box office performance with earnings of $28.4 million posted a week after its Thanksgiving release. With initial forecasts of $25 million, the Disney animation film surpassed analyst expectations for its second week run, according to Los Angeles Times.
Released in late November, "Moana" already posted total gross domestic earnings of $119.9 million. Coupled with its international box office earnings of $57.5 million, the Disney film has already recovered its $150 million movie budget.
The Disney animated film features the voices of Auli'i Cravalho as the titular heroine, as well as the Hollywood action star Dwayne Johnson as the legendary demigod Maui. With a storyline that tells the challenges and adventures of a headstrong young girl, coupled with amazing visuals, the film captured the interest of many children and kid-at-heart moviegoers.
With "Moana" at the top of the post-Thanksgiving box office chart, the fantasy adventure film "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" landed at number two with $18.5 million. Already on its third week, the "Harry Potter" spin-off movie has already reached a total domestic earning of $183.5 million with international box office numbers of more than $424 million.
Meanwhile, "Moana" recently was shown during the Marrakech Film Festival in Morroco. Held on Dec. 4, Sunday, the special screening was hosted by Disney and marked the first Disney film dubbed in Arabic, according to Variety.
Previously Disney films released in former French colonies such as Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia were dubbed in French. Given the Arabic dubbed "Moana," the move signals the company's intention to expand its movie releases in other markets that include the French-speaking Africa.
Disney's "Moana" was released in the U.S. on Nov. 23. Watch the trailer below:
