‘Moana’ Live-Action Remake Just Had One Of Disney’s Worst Openings Ever

Disney has spent the last decade proving that its animated classics can thrive just as easily in live action, turning films like ‘The Lion King’ and ‘Aladdin’ into billion-dollar franchises all over again. That track record made the live-action version of ‘Moana‘ feel like one of the safer bets on this summer’s crowded release calendar.

The film arrived in theaters with Dwayne Johnson returning as Maui and newcomer Catherine Laga’aia stepping into the title role, directed by ‘Hamilton’ filmmaker Thomas Kail. Expectations were modest but still hopeful, with early tracking suggesting a domestic opening somewhere in the $60 million to $65 million range.

Reality landed far below that mark. ‘Moana’ crossed only $95 million globally in its opening weekend, pulling in roughly $43 million domestically and about $52 million internationally against a massive $250 million production budget.

That result puts the new ‘Moana’ in the same conversation as 2025’s ‘Snow White,’ widely considered one of Disney’s worst live-action missteps, which opened to a similar $42 million domestically before finishing its run with just $205 million worldwide. For a studio that has largely avoided that kind of outcome in recent years, landing in the same neighborhood twice in two summers is a hard pattern to ignore.

The comparison to ‘Moana’s’ own history makes the number sting even more. The original 2016 animated film opened to $56.5 million domestically on its way to a $642 million worldwide total, while 2024’s ‘Moana 2’ set a Thanksgiving weekend record with a $139.7 million domestic debut and eventually sailed past the billion dollar mark globally.

Critics have not offered much of a life raft either. The live action remake landed in the low thirties on Rotten Tomatoes, a score that trails even ‘Snow White’ and sits well below the reception for stronger Disney remakes like ‘Aladdin’ and ‘The Lion King.’ Audiences who did show up were kinder, handing the film an A- CinemaScore, though that has done little to change the opening weekend math.

Timing appears to be a real factor in the stumble. This version arrives barely two years after ‘Moana 2’ already delivered a full theatrical run and a billion-dollar global total, leaving industry watchers pointing to franchise fatigue as one likely explanation for why audiences did not feel the urge to revisit the story so soon in a new format.

‘Moana’ also becomes the third major disappointment of the summer season, following underwhelming runs for ‘Supergirl’ and ‘Minions and Monsters,’ even as the overall summer box office remains on pace to be one of the strongest since before the pandemic. With a $250 million budget looming over its theatrical run, some industry analysts are projecting the film could ultimately lose around $100 million for Disney.

The studio does have reason for cautious optimism looking ahead, since Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey’ and ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ are both set to arrive in theaters later this month, giving the summer box office a chance to bounce back in a hurry. Whether ‘Moana’ can find its footing through strong word of mouth in the coming weeks remains to be seen.

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