Disney’s live-action Moana fails to make a splash at box office with underwhelming opening | Film
The Walt Disney Company’s live-action remake of Moana may be the No. 1 movie at the North American box office, but it didn’t make a big splash in its first weekend in theaters.
The film, which reportedly cost $250 million (£187 million, A$360 million) to make, earned just $43 million from ticket sales in the US and Canada, according to studio estimates on Sunday.
Internationally, it earned $52 million from 50 markets, bringing its global debut to $95 million (£71 million, A$137 million).
The studio invested heavily in Moana, one of its most popular series. The 2016 animated film became the most watched movie on Disney+. The sequel, assembled from a planned series of releases, earned more than $1 billion when it opened with $225 million in 2024, setting a Thanksgiving record.
Directed by Thomas Kail, this latest Moana brings Dwayne Johnson back to the role of demigod Maui and introduces Australian actor Catherine Lagaʻaia as the adventurous Polynesian princess. Despite the praise for Lagaʻaia, the film rode a wave of dismal reviews from critics for being essentially a shot-for-shot remake of the original.
Moana currently has a 34% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Viewers, mostly women (66%), were less negative: 63% said they would “definitely” recommend the movie to friends, according to PostTrak. Parents’ reactions were even stronger; 78% said they would recommend it to other parents. It also has a promising A-CinemaScore.
Disney’s live-action remakes of beloved animated films, new and old, have had their share of successes and disappointments. Some, including Lilo + Stitch, The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast, have earned more than $1 billion. Others have floundered, too, most notably Snow White, which earned just $205 million worldwide last year. Moana opened on par with Snow White, which grossed $42.2 million at the North American box office and $87 million worldwide in its opening weekend.
Paul Dergarabedian, Rentrak’s head of market trends, said Moana’s debut may also be a product of PG-rated oversaturation in the market: Universal’s Minions & Monsters came in second with $20.5 million, while Toy Story 5 came in third with $18.5 million, for a global total of $879.1 million.
“Families love going to the movies, but right now there are three,” Dergarabedian said. “That means a lot of competition.”
PG-rated movies grossed more than others in 2024 and 2025, so Moana’s performance suggests it may not be a case of “family movie fatigue” but just a ceiling, he said. Families have a choice to make, and after four weekends, Toy Story 5 is still going strong.
There are also signs that these movies won’t sink or swim, based on opening weekend alone. Despite opening below expectations during the July 4th holiday, Minions & Monsters also fell a modest 45% this weekend. Its domestic total stands at 108.3 million dollars.
The year’s total domestic box office total is just under $5.2 billion, up nearly 10.7% from last year. While both May and June were very strong — both grossing over $1 billion in North America — Dergarabedian said July faced a number of headwinds, including Supergirl, which underperformed. Things will likely pick up with the arrival of Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey next week, followed by Spider-Man: Brand New Day over the weekend.
“They could have August be stronger at the box office than July, which is very unusual,” Dergarabedian said.
