Disney's confidence in Moana 2 is coming into question following a shocking review update surrounding the film.
After showing audiences all the places she'd go in the 2016 original film, Moana and her animated sea-faring friends are set to make their triumphant return to the big screen in the upcoming sequel (with special Moana 2 popcorn buckets to boot).
The Disney animated sequel will see Moana and friends journey to the far seas of Oceania in search of a hidden cursed island known as Motufetu. The film was originally planned as a Disney+ project but has been refashioned into a full-blown big-screen blockbuster set for a (record-breaking) Thanksgiving release.
Moana 2 Review Update Worries Fans
The Moana 2 critic review embargo has reportedly been revealed, potentially pointing to a lack of confidence from Disney for the film.
According to a post on X (formerly Twitter) from The Hollywood Handle's Ricardo Aymar, the Moana 2 review embargo is set for Tuesday, November 26 at noon ET.
Aymar shared that he was "surprised on how late it is," given the promotional push the film has been seeing in recent weeks.
The review embargo comes mere hours before the movie will start playing in some theaters for Tuesday night previews, which is only one day before the movie's proper release date (November 27).
Typically, if a studio has a lack of confidence in a particular project, it will hold the review embargo to as close to (or even sometime after) release as possible so as to control the narrative leading into a title's debut.
If a movie is viewed positively by the studio behind it, then it is common for reviews to come out sometime weeks in advance to get the positive momentum rolling into release.
This has worried fans looking forward to the animated Disney sequel, as, if it follows this precedent, it could spell bad things for the movie.
For comparison, the critically maligned Wish (also from Disney) had reviews drop a whole 10 days before it came to theaters.
Moana 2 falling into this critical flop category is no guarantee though. There is still a good chance reviews for the film drop the day before release and are glowing.
In recent months, Disney has been pushing its review embargos quite close to release.
This summer's box office smash, Inside Out 2, had its review drop only two days before it came to theaters. Additionally, Marvel Studios' fan-favorite Deadpool & Wolverine had its embargo come up just three days before it was released.
Why Are Moana 2 Reviews Coming So Late?
Even with the knowledge of Disney pushing its review embargos later and later in 2024, fans will surely still worry about Moana 2.
Even with this new strategy of late review embargos, one day is tight. This is just the latest in a string of worrying surrounding the Moana sequel.
The movie, while following up a beloved original film, has not had the easiest run-up to release. The project's history as a Disney+ series is no secret, with some skeptical about it being refashioned into a big-screen blockbuster.
According to reporting from February 2024, the decision to change course for the film was "set in motion a few months [before]," meaning it came fairly late in the Moana 2 production process.
While Disney CEO Bob Iger has portrayed confidence in his remarks surrounding the movie, those sentiments almost always come back to the brand recognition of Moana rather than Moana 2 itself.
In a March 2024 earnings call for the company, Iger noted that they were "impressed with what [they] saw" from the Moana 2 project and that is what prompted the studio to push forward with a theatrical release:
"We were impressed with what we saw and knew it deserved a theatrical release."
Surely, Moana being Disney+'s most streamed movie of 2023 also may have had something to do with it — especially in this era of Disney being focused so heavily on its theatrical fare on guaranteed hits rather than creative risks.
All of this is to say that fans will have to wait to find out if Moana 2 can surf the positive wave left for it by the first film, or fall off its board and sink to the depths of Disney's animated canon.
But there the evidence is mounting that, sadly for fans, it may be the latter.
Moana 2 comes to theaters on Wednesday, November 27.
