Disney’s latest voyage into live-action movie “Moana” released this month, was expected to ride the wave at the box office, earning $43 million from 3,827 North American theaters in its opening weekend.
The film, with ticket sales enough for No. 1 on box office charts, was set for a massive $250 million production budget and has now warned that it could face losses exceeding $100 million, making it one of the company most high profile remake backfires.
The original Moana (2016) charmed audiences with a $ 56.6 million opening and went to gross $643 million globally, and its animated sequel, Moana (2024), stormed past the billion-dollar mark, but the live action version has failed to capture the same pace.
Directed by Thomas Kail and starring Dwayne Johnson as Maui and Catherin Laga’aia as Moana, it fell short of expectations, especially in the crowded summer season, opting to retool the project into a feature film.
Moana faced competition from two family-friendly franchises, Universal and Illumination’s “Minions and Monsters” as well as Disney and Pixar’s “Toy Story 5.”
The failure of Moana raises bigger questions about Disney’s reliance, with the company pivoting back to its roots in animation rather than chasing live-action nostalgia.
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