Disney's "Moana" now accumulated a total of $145 million in the US alone since its premiere in Thanksgiving. The Polynesian-inspired animated film is now in its third week topping the Box Office.
With its domestic gross income, Disney adds yet another top charting film aside from "Finding Dory," which grossed $468 million, and "Civil War," which grossed $408 million, according to Daily Observer.
Disney will continue bathing in glory before ending the year as "Rogue One: A Star War's Story" will hit the screens on December 15. This Star Wars franchise could very well cap off Disney's billion dollars national income this past year. It is expected to hit the top spot from "Moana" for the rest of the holiday season.
According to IGN, Disney dominated the year with its annual profits from the films produced by Marvel Studios, Pixar, and Disney Animations. Aside from "Moana," high-grossing films of Disney that contributed to its $2 billion box office success are "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," "Zootopia," "The Jungle Book," "Captain America: Civil War," "Finding Dory" and "Doctor Strange."
"Moana" beats DreamWork's "Office Christmas Party," a comedy film about a holiday party prepared by office workers. "La La Land," a Lionsgate musical, received the best reviews despite limited release and came in third at the box office.
Disney's "Moana" encapsulates how the character Moana and the demigod Maui journey to bring back the heart of Te Fiti to lift a curse surrounding the island. The multi-cultural feat of Disney presented in this film offers a fresh and invigorating perspective about the spiritual and cultural life of Polynesians living in the Pacific. Much of the film's success is its introduction to something not western which are mostly dominated by princesses.
Musician Opetaia Foa'i stated the times when he had to stand his ground and voiced his opinions when he felt like a scene of his culture could be better represented, according to NZ Herald. "They're not from this culture so I can expect them - with good intentions - to make mistakes. It's just one of those things. But when I put my foot down they were able to go, 'Oh okay, Opetaia says this so we'll look at that again,'" he said.
"I put my foot down and said no way. This thing here, you've got to treat it with respect, it describes the mana that the ancestors had, the confidence they had in voyaging these waters, their pride in finding their direction and knowing where they wanted to go."
