Disney‘s Moana has been revealed as the most streamed movie in the past five years.
The 2016 animated movie was a modest hit when it was first released, finishing 12th at the global box office, but since it was first launched on Disney+ in 2020, it has become the most popular films on all streaming platform, according to figures released by Nielsen (via The Wall Street Journal).
Between 2020 and 2024, Moana has been watched via streaming services for 44.8billion minutes, making it the most streamed last year and over the past five years combined.
Set in ancient Polynesia, the film tells the story of a brave teenage girl chosen to save her island from a terrible blight.
This was closely followed by Encanto which had been streamed 37.1billion minutes from 2020 to 2024 and Frozen 2 on 30.7billion minutes.
“A movie that came out that many years before suddenly popping – I mean, obviously it’s unprecedented,” Jared Bush, the chief creative officer of Walt Disney Animation Studios, told The Wall Street Journal.
Meanwhile, Moana 2 was recently released in cinemas and sees Auli’i Cravalho return as Moana, along with Dwayne Johnson as Maui, the shapeshifting demigod who accompanies her on her journey, and Nicole Scherzinger as Moana’s mother Sina.
Joining the cast this time around are comedian Rose Matafeo as Loto and David Fane as Kele, two members of Moana’s wayfinding crew.
The film is directed by David Derrick Jr., known for working as a storyboard artist on The Lion King (2019), Encanto and the original Moana, alongside Jason Hand and Dana Ledoux Miller.
The film had originally been intended as a long-form streaming series, but was reworked into a feature film by February 2024.
Elsewhere, the most streamed television shows were recently revealed earlier this year with Netflix‘s Bodkin topping the list followed by A Man In Full and Baby Reindeer.