Moana Struggles at Box Office with $45 Million Opening
Disney’s live-action adaptation of Moana, featuring Dwayne Johnson and Catherine Laga’aia, has debuted to a disappointing box office performance. The film, a reimagining of the beloved 2016 animated feature, opened with approximately $45 million across 3,900 North American screens. This figure falls significantly short of the anticipated $60 million-plus target, with initial projections suggesting it could even reach $75 million.
Box Office Performance
Directed by Thomas Kail, Moana garnered around $18 million domestically on its opening day, which included Thursday previews. Despite receiving an A- CinemaScore from audiences, the film carries a hefty production budget of $250 million. It will need to attract family audiences over the summer, especially with the upcoming release of Christopher Nolan’s R-rated The Odyssey from Universal.
This opening weekend performance mirrors that of Disney’s Snow White, which debuted to $42 million in March 2025. That film, starring Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot, was also deemed a box office disappointment, earning a B+ CinemaScore and costing $270 million to produce. Following its lackluster performance, Disney paused development on its planned live-action Tangled.
Comparisons to Previous Releases
The original Moana film opened to $82 million during the Thanksgiving weekend in 2016, ultimately grossing $643 million globally. The animated feature introduced audiences to Johnson as the demigod Maui and Auli’i Cravalho as the titular character, who must work together to lift a curse threatening her island.
In contrast, the animated sequel Moana 2, released theatrically in 2024, opened to $225 million over the Thanksgiving frame and surpassed $1 billion globally. Originally intended as a Disney+ series, the transition to a theatrical release complicated the timing for the live-action Moana, which began production in mid-2024.
Disney’s Live-Action Strategy
Disney’s recent live-action adaptations of animated classics, such as Alice in Wonderland (2010), Beauty and the Beast (2017), and The Lion King (2019), all opened to over $100 million domestically. These films benefited from higher Rotten Tomatoes scores compared to the live-action Moana, which currently holds a 34 percent critics rating. A review noted that this new iteration “stands confidently on its own.”
The Moana franchise has a substantial fanbase, with Disney reporting over 1.5 billion hours streamed on Disney+ and more than 22 million toys sold, alongside 26 billion music streams.
Competing Releases
In addition to Moana, Warner Bros. released Evil Dead Burn, which secured the No. 4 spot with $6.7 million, including Thursday previews. Directed by Sébastien Vanicek, this film is the sixth installment in the Evil Dead franchise, which began with Sam Raimi’s original in 1981. The latest entry received a B CinemaScore and follows Evil Dead Rise, which opened to $24.5 million domestically in April 2023.
Universal’s Minions & Monsters also opened last week, competing for family audiences. It is projected to finish in second place with $21 million, bringing its domestic total to $108 million after a notably low opening weekend for the Despicable Me franchise.
Disney’s Toy Story 5, featuring voice stars Tom Hanks and Tim Allen, is expected to take third place with around $18.6 million this weekend, having recently surpassed $800 million in its global run.
In the fifth position, Young Washington, released by Angel Studios, is projected to earn $2.1 million in its second weekend. The film stars William Franklyn-Miller as a young George Washington and opened to $19 million domestically over the Fourth of July weekend.
As reported by www.hollywoodreporter.com.
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Published on 2026-07-11 20:58:00 • By FAME Delivered News Desk
