Moana 2 is one of the biggest films to hit theaters in the last year, but the original plan for the sequel would have completely prevented Disney from earning $1 billion at the box office. The follow up to 2016’s Moana, Moana 2 was the third most successful film released theatrically last year. The animated musical beat out other mainstream and cultural hits like Wicked and Dune, with only two other Disney releases, Inside Out 2 and ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine, beating it at the box office.

This makes the fact that Moana 2 was originally produced as a TV show all the more surprising. If the project had remained in that form, then Disney+ would have had another in a slew of streaming shows while the company would have lost out on one of the year’s most successful films. Set in motion by circumstances outside Disney’s control, the decision to pivot to a primarily streaming focus was failing to reach the true box office potential that Disney theatrical releases can still earn.

Disney Was Overly Focused On Expanding Disney Plus Under Bob Chapek

Disney+ Became The Primary Disney Business Model During The Lockdowns

The success of Moana 2 at the box office highlights the underlying error behind using the Disney+ streaming service as a direct pipeline to the biggest films from the company. This started when Bob Chapek, a longtime veteran of the Walt Disney Company, took over as CEO in 2020 after Bob Iger’s retirement. Months into the pandemic lockdowns, Disney largely sнιтed focus from theatrical releases to streaming media. On top of theatrical films like Mulan and Soul being released through Disney+ instead of receiving larger theatrical releases, more media was directly produced for the streaming app.

Theatrical films like Raya and the Last Dragon were released simultaneously on Disney+ Premier Access, all while the streaming service moved forward with multiple Star Wars and Marvel Cinematic Universe shows. Animated follow-ups to Zootopia, The Princess and the Frog, and Moana were geared for the streaming service instead of the big-screen. While the circumstances of pandemic-forced theatrical shutdowns made this a reasonable short-term solution, the decision has proven to be mistaken in the long run.

Moana 2 Only Became A Movie After Disney’s Streaming Plans Started To Backfire

Too Many Streaming Shows Impacted The Overall Finacial Strength Of Disney

The plan to make Disney+ the primary release platform for the company required a steady stream of new content like Moana 2, which ideally would also help off-set the loss of revenue that comes with pulling licenses with other streamers. Disney+ meant the studio was no longer making as much profit from licensing their films with streamers like Netflix. This plan also ate into the theatrical box office of Disney films, even following the pandemic. Audiences began simply waiting for the movie to debut on a relatively cheaper streaming service, impacting the disappointing box office gross for films like Lightyear.

This increased flow of shows from Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm and Disney Animation oversaturated the market in a way that theatrical releases had largely avoided. This contributed to lower earnings for the company and Chapek’s dismissal from Disney. A returning Iger shifted focus back to theatrical release for several projects. These behind-the-scenes events resulted in Moana 2 being changed to be a feature-length film over remaining a TV show, something that the creatives on the project were forced to adapt around.

Moana 2 Proves Why Disney Needs To Continue Prioritizing Theatrical Movies Over Streaming Films

Disney Dominated The Box Office In 2024 Thanks To Big Releases On The Big Screen

While Moana 2 doesn’t fully escape the inherently episodic structure of the story, the film has already proven to be a mᴀssive theatrical success. The scope of the story and the returning characters from the beloved 2016 film helped propel Moana 2 in the 2024 box office rankings, making it the third most successful film of the year. An overall return to theatrical focus has benefited Disney across the board, with Pixar’s Inside Out 2 and Marvel Studios’ ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine standing out as the only two films surpᴀss Moana 2 at the box office.

Moana 2 is a reminder to Disney about the power of a theatrical release. Their big-name films are epic in scope and broad in execution, exactly the kind of mᴀss-appealing films that feel like events when they come out theatrically. If Disney wants to carry on the success they’ve found at the 2024 box office, they need to continue releasing projects across both big screen and online. A streaming version of Moana 2 would have entirely negated the $1 billion that movie has made at the box office, proving Disney should still have a vested interest in theatrical releases.