With Moana 2's theatrical debut imminent, fans have been staring at the horizon, looking for specifics on the movie's streaming debut on Disney+ and digital.
Following up on Disney's hit 2016 musical, Moana, Moana 2 is finally ready to set sail. It will tell the story of the studio's Polynesian explorer princess as she is called back to the ocean by a mysterious villainous force, journeying to the far seas to break a curse on a now-hidden island.
Originally envisioned as a Disney+ series, the film is being eyed as another box office win for Disney; however, recent updates around Moana 2's review embargo may spell stormy seas for the upcoming sequel.
When Will Moana 2 Come to Digital?
As Moana 2 approaches its theatrical release date, some may begin to wonder what is in store for the movie after its run in theaters.
The next step in Moana 2's post-release journey will be an online release date, coming to digital or premium-video-on-demand (PVOD) platforms like Amazon Prime Video, Google Play, and Apple TV.
Typically, Disney animated movies take several weeks before hitting digital, so fans eager to watch the movie at home, will have to wait.
Since 2022, Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar movies have taken on average 55 days after its theatrical debut. Of course, that metric varies from project to project.
2022's Strange World took a meager 30 days to hit PVOD platforms, while more recent films like the 2024 box office smash, Inside Out 2, took 67 days.
Based on this, fans should expect Moana 2 to take anywhere between 60 and 67 days to hit digital following its Wednesday, November 27 release date.
Using this estimation, fans should expect the sea-faring cinematic adventure to be released on PVOD platforms around January 24, 2025, at the absolute earliest.
Below is a list of recent Disney and Pixar animated projects and their theatrical-to-digital windows for comparison:
- Strange World (30 days)
- Theatrical: November 23, 2022
- Digital: December 23, 2022
- Elemental (60 days)
- Theatrical: June 16, 2023
- Digital: August 15, 2023
- Wish (62 days)
- Theatrical: November 22, 2023
- Digital: January 23, 2024
- Inside Out 2 (67 days)
- Theatrical: June 14, 2024
- Digital: August 20, 2024
When Will Moana 2 Come to Streaming?
As for when Moana 2 will come to streaming, that is a different question.
Disney has slowly been lengthening the distance between a movie's theatrical release and its streaming debut on Disney+; however, the studio has settled into a bit of a pattern in recent months, perhaps signaling when the film may come to the platform.
100+-day theatrical-to-streaming windows for Disney/Pixar animated films have become the norm for the studio.
While last year's Wish pushed that to 134 days between its big screen debut and dropping on Disney+, more recent movies, like Inside Out 2, seem to have settled right in around that 100-day mark.
Some movies, like Strange World (30 days) and Elemental (89 days), came in under 100 days, but those seem to have been released before this new streaming strategy had come into play at the House of Mouse.
With these figures in mind, it would make sense that Moana 2 would come to Disney+ sometime after 100 days in theaters. That means a streaming release date somewhere around March or April would make the most sense.
See some other Disney/Pixar theatrical-to-streaming windows below:
- Strange World (30 days)
- Theatrical: November 23, 2022
- Streaming: December 23, 2022
- Elemental (89 days)
- Theatrical: June 16, 2023
- Streaming: September 12, 2023
- Wish (134 days)
- Theatrical: November 22, 2023
- Streaming: April 3, 2024
- Inside Out 2 (103 days)
- Theatrical: June 14, 2024
- Streaming: September 25, 2024
It is worth noting that this figure, more than the digital release, can be influenced by a movie's performance. If Moana 2 were to be the smash box office hit Disney is hoping it will be, then that 100-day window could be pushed even further.
Moana 2 arrives in theaters on Wednesday, November 27.
