Weekly Unaided Awareness Chart – Has MOANA 2 Emerged As The Thanksgiving Favorite Over WICKED?

Back in February, we highlighted the looming Thanksgiving showdown between WICKED and MOANA 2. We even gave it the clumsy moniker of “Moicked.”

Not since the great BARBIE and OPPENHEIMER showdown have two big titles gone head-to-head. Back then, it was reasonable to think that either of these titles would reign supreme. However, is MOANA emerging as the film to beat?

Let’s take a look. Starting with awareness, at 45%, MOANA (dark yellow) has the edge, leading WICKED (light yellow) at 41%. It could be argued that MOANA has an inherent advantage, given that it’s a sequel. That’s a fair argument, though it’s not as though WICKED is an entirely original IP. It is based on the legendary musical, it has ties to one of the most popular films of all time, and Universal has been very aggressive with the campaign. Plus, a 4-point gap isn’t all that large.

It’s a similar story when looking at interest. MOANA (dark blue) is ahead of WICKED (light blue) 50% to 45%.

To be clear, both films look healthy. At this point, there’s nothing to suggest that either film is poised to underperform. These are solid numbers for titles five months away from release.

Having said that, there is one metric where MOANA clearly excels. That’s unaided awareness. MOANA has appeared on the Weekly Unaided Awareness Chart 14 times, including the past seven weeks in a row. It sits again at 3%, a high mark reached for the first time last week.

Meanwhile, WICKED has appeared on the chart nine times. After slipping off last week, the film returns with 1% unaided. WICKED has been far less consistent than MOANA, appearing, falling off, and reappearing on the chart. All the while, it has failed to rise higher than 1% over the past three months.

So, while MOANA has a slight edge in total awareness and interest, the animated sequel has a clear advantage in unaided. As you can see below, it has the highest unaided of any film over six weeks from release.

The film with the highest unaided this week is DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE, which climbs to 11%. DESPICABLE ME 4 jumps from 4% to 7%. That’s exactly where INSIDE OUT 2 was at the same distance from release.