Disney’s live-action Moana finished first at the box office. The result was smaller than the studio projected and smaller than the property seemed to deserve.
The numbers
The film opened in 3,875 North American theaters. It earned $43 million in its domestic opening weekend. The worldwide total landed at $95 million, including $52 million from overseas markets. Those ticket sales are not catastrophic for a No. 1 finish, but they are well below the $60 million to $65 million Disney expected.
The cost structure makes the gap harder to overlook. Moana was produced for $250 million before marketing. That means the film needs a long and profitable international run to return its budget.
How it compares to other remakes
Moana is now being measured against Snow White. The 2025 live-action Snow White opened to $42.2 million domestically and $87 million globally against a $250 million budget. Moana’s opening is only slightly better. Both films carry the same financial burden.
Earlier Disney remakes from the 2010s and early 2020s opened much larger. Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King all debuted above $100 million and crossed $1 billion. Those films were based on properties from the 1990s and early 2000s, a sweet spot Disney has not yet fully understood.
“Disney invented this live-action phenomenon based on their animated films, and they’ve had remarkable success with them. But this opening isn’t close to Disney’s past remakes.”
Why the timing worked against it
Moana 2 opened around Thanksgiving 2024. It became a billion-dollar hit. The live-action remake arrived less than two years later. Disney intended to put distance between the two releases, but the delay moved the remake only one year. That left audiences with one question: why see this story again so soon?
Critics rejected the live-action version. It holds a 35% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Audiences who attended opening weekend gave it an A- CinemaScore. That split suggests the film may have longer legs than its debut implies, but it will need them.
What comes next
Disney has an unusually tight corridor coming up. Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey opens July 17, just two weeks later. Spider-Man: Brand New Day opens July 31. Both films will draw the same audience Disney needs to rescue Moana’s run.
Why It Matters
Moana’s opening shows that Disney’s live-action remake strategy has a ceiling, especially when the animated original is too recent to feel like nostalgia and too new to feel earned. The studio now has three consecutive tentpoles underperforming in a summer season that is otherwise strong.
For a related look at a high-profile 2026 remake and how it drew comparisons to earlier Disney misfires, see our piece on Alabama Shakes’ I Must Be Dreaming. For another article tracking a major Warner Bros. summer release, read our Wednesday season 2 teaser breakdown.
