Disney’s Live-Action ‘Moana’ Crosses an Important Box Office Milestone, But It’s Still Nowhere Near Profitable

Disney’s live-action remake strategy has produced some of the studio’s biggest box office wins over the past decade, transforming beloved animated classics into billion-dollar theatrical events. But that formula has increasingly shown signs of strain, and one of this summer’s biggest examples has continued to stumble even as it keeps climbing toward new milestones.

The live-action reimagining of ‘Moana‘ arrived in theaters on July 10, a decade after the original animated film and less than two years after ‘Moana 2’ became a billion-dollar hit of its own. Directed by “Hamilton” stage director Thomas Kail, the remake stars Australian newcomer Catherine Laga’aia in the title role, with Dwayne Johnson returning as the demigod Maui.

That timing appears to have worked against the film in a major way. ‘Moana’ has now crossed 300 million dollars at the worldwide box office, but that milestone comes against a massive 250 million dollar production budget, a number that doesn’t include Disney’s marketing spend, estimated at roughly 120 million dollars on top of production costs.

That combination puts the film’s true break-even point somewhere around 600 million dollars, once theater owners’ typical 50 percent cut of ticket sales is factored into the equation. Even with its latest milestone crossed, ‘Moana’ remains roughly half its total investment away from turning a genuine profit for Disney.

The film’s struggles trace back to a disappointing theatrical debut. ‘Moana’ opened to 43 million dollars domestically and roughly 95 million dollars worldwide, falling well short of Disney’s own pre-release projections of 60 to 65 million dollars stateside and 140 million dollars globally.

That opening placed ‘Moana’ among the weakest debuts in Disney’s live-action remake catalog, drawing direct comparisons to 2025’s ‘Snow White,’ which similarly opened with a 42 million dollar domestic debut against an identical 250 million dollar budget before finishing its run around 205 million dollars worldwide. Industry analysts have pointed to timing as a key factor in the film’s underperformance, with audiences seemingly less eager to revisit a story they’d already experienced twice in the past decade.

Exhibitor Relations analyst Jeff Bock summed up the challenge Disney faces with its remake strategy, noting that success ultimately depends on whether audiences see a given remake as a genuine event or simply a duplicate of something they’ve already seen. For ‘Moana,’ that distinction appears to have worked against the film from the outset.

Despite its rocky start, ‘Moana’ has shown somewhat encouraging retention as its theatrical run has continued. The film posted a relatively modest 56 percent decline in its second weekend, a hold that outperformed several other recent Disney remakes and helped the film keep climbing steadily toward its current 300 million dollar total.

Audience reception has also remained comparatively strong, with the film earning a solid “A-” grade on CinemaScore exit polls, suggesting the people who did show up largely enjoyed what they saw. That kind of positive word-of-mouth has historically helped some Disney releases recover from soft openings, as seen with 2024’s ‘Mufasa: The Lion King,’ which opened to a similarly underwhelming 35 million dollars before eventually climbing to 722 million dollars worldwide.

Still, ‘Moana’s’ path to that kind of turnaround looks considerably steeper given its massive budget and the crowded summer marketplace it’s had to compete against, including ‘Toy Story 5’ and ‘Minions & Monsters.’ Unless the film’s international performance accelerates significantly in the coming weeks, ‘Moana’ appears increasingly likely to join ‘Snow White’ among Disney’s most expensive live-action remake disappointments in recent memory.

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