Disney’s Moana has quickly, albeit somewhat quietly, become one of the Mouse House’s most critically and commercially successful films of the previous year. As the animation studios’ 56th feature, this soon-to-be Disney classic opened as with the second biggest Thanksgiving domestic debut of all time. Additionally, the movie currently boasts a 95 percent critic score on Rotten Tomatoes and an “A” CinemaScore.
Moana has garnered attention from major award shows as well. So far, the film has earned nominations from BAFTA, PGA, Golden Globes, and Critics’ Choice Movie Awards. Not to mention, Moana is expected to receive some Oscar love in the Best Animated Picture category at this year’s Academy Awards. In the wake of all this positive publicity, it would appear as though Disney plans to capitalize on the feature’s success by releasing a sing-along version of the film later this month.
According to Disney Animation Studios, an all-new sing-along version of the 2016 animated hit Moana will arrive in theaters nationwide January 27, 2017. This new version of the film is slated to release in more than 2,000 theaters nationwide and will premiere exclusively at Hollywood’s El Capitan Theatre on January 20th.
At this point, it is not clear as to how long this version of the film is expected to remain in theaters or if it will be included with Moana’s respective DVD, Blu-ray, and digital releases.
Disney is, of course, no stranger to fan-adored original songs and scores, but Moana is arguably the studios’ best since 2013’s fan-favorite animated film Frozen. Additionally, the movie making giant is very familiar with sing-alongs, recently taking this approach with the aforementioned blockbuster Frozen. That being said, this sing-along version of the film will allow Moana to add to its already impressive $450 million that it has earned worldwide thus far.
The sing-along cut of Moana may add incentive to see the film for those moviegoers who have yet to view the film in theaters. For those who have already seen the movie, this new version might be enough to coerce some into viewing it for the second (or perhaps even third of fourth) time. While Moana has been an unequivocal success for the studio, it was not the commercial hit that Zootopia – another hit from Walt Disney Animation Studios – was earlier this year. Perhaps this move will serve to narrow the gap just a bit.
The sing-along version of Moana will arrive in theaters nationwide on January 27, 2017. The theatrical version of the film will be released digitally on February 21, 2017, and on Blu-ray and DVD two weeks later, on March 7, 2017.
Source: Disney
- Moana Release Date: 2016-11-23
