Disney’s live-action Moana fails to make a splash at box office with underwhelming opening

Catherine Laga‘aia as Moana with rooster Heihei in Walt Disney Company’s live-action remake of Moana, which has underperformed at the global box office. Photograph: Disney Enterprises/PA View image in fullscreen Catherine Laga‘aia as Moana with rooster Heihei in Walt Disney Company’s live-action remake of Moana, which has underperformed at the global box office. Photograph: Disney Enterprises/PA Disney’s live-action Moana fails to make a splash at box office with underwhelming opening Latest film in franchise takes just $43m in North America and $95m globally, against a $250m budget The Walt Disney Company’s live-action remake of Moana may be the No 1 movie at the North American box office but it did not make a big splash in its first weekend in theaters. The movie, which cost a reported $250m (£187m, A$360m) to produce, earned just $43m from ticket sales in the US and Canada, according to studio estimates on Sunday. Internationally, it earned $52m from 50 markets, adding up to a $95m (£71m, A$137m) global debut. Moana review – Dwayne Johnson’s demigod on autopilot in dull live-action remake Read more The studio bet big on Moana , one of its most popular franchises. The 2016 animated film is the most-watched movie on Disney+. Its sequel, which was stitched together from a planned streaming series, made more than $1bn and scored a Thanksgiving record when it opened with $225m in 2024. This latest Moana, directed by Thomas Kail, brings Dwayne Johnson back as the demigod Maui and introduces the Australian actor Catherine Lagaʻaia as the adventuring Polynesian princess. Despite praise for Lagaʻaia, the film set sail on a wave of dismal reviews from critics for being essentially a shot-for-shot remake of the original. Moana is now sitting at a 34% on Rotten Tomatoes. Audiences, the majority of whom were women (66%), were less negative: according to PostTrak, 63% said they would “definitely” recommend the film to friends. Parent reactions were even stronger, with 78% saying they would recommend it to other parents. It also got 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 have made more than $1bn, including Lilo + Stitch, The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast. Others have floundered, most notably last year’s Snow White, which made only $205m worldwide. Moana opened more on par with Snow White, which made $42.2m in its opening weekend at the North American box office and $87m globally. Paul Dergarabedian, the head of marketplace trends for Rentrak, said Moana’s debut could also be a product of PG-rated oversaturation in the marketplace: Universal’s Minions & Monsters was in second place with $20.5m and Toy Story 5 was close behind in third place with $18.5m, with a running global total of $879.1m. “Families love going to the movies but right now there are three of them,” Dergarabedian said. “That’s a lot of competition.” PG-rated films outgros