Disney’s live-action Moana remake has crashed against the rocks at the box office, grossing just $95 million worldwide in its opening weekend against a massive $250 million production budget. The film earned only $43 million domestically, far below Disney’s projected $60-65 million debut and landing among the lowest openings of any Disney live-action remake. The underwhelming performance positions Moana alongside 2025’s Snow White, which opened to $42.7 million domestically and finished with just $205.6 million worldwide against a similar budget.
The remake’s struggles stem largely from poor timing. The original animated Moana arrived in 2016, and the animated sequel Moana 2 became a billion-dollar smash just 20 months ago in 2024. With a third animated installment already in development, audiences simply haven’t had enough time to develop nostalgia for the franchise. Industry analysts note that Disney’s most successful live-action remakes, The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin, were based on animated classics from the ’90s, allowing decades for audience nostalgia to build.
Critics have also rejected the remake, which holds a dismal 35% score on Rotten Tomatoes, though audiences who did show up gave it an “A-” CinemaScore. The film needs to reach approximately $625 million globally just to break even under the standard 2.5x production budget rule, making profitability seem nearly impossible. With *Moana* now tracking similarly to Snow White, Disney could face a loss of around $100 million on the project.
The live-action Moana stars Catherine Laga’aia as Moana and Dwayne Johnson reprising his role as Maui, with Thomas Kail directing. Despite being No. 1 at the box office this weekend, the opening represents a rare miss for Disney’s usually reliable live-action remake machine. With no major family competition until Spider-Man: Brand New Day arrives later this month, the film may see some legs, but its path to profitability is already closed.
