"Moana" Ties "Snow White" for Disney's Worst Live-Action Remake Opening
Disney's live-action remake of Moana opened to just $43 million domestically and $95 million globally, one of the weakest debuts in the studio's live-action remake catalog and a result that could cost the company between $100 million and $125 million once its theatrical run ends.
The film, directed by Thomas Kail and starring Catherine Laga'aia as Moana alongside Dwayne Johnson as Maui, carried a production budget of $250 million, plus roughly $120 million more in marketing costs. Disney had projected a domestic opening between $60 million and $65 million heading into the weekend, with some third-party tracking suggesting the film could reach as high as $75 million. Instead, Moana finished on par with 2025's Snow White, widely considered Disney's worst-performing live-action remake to date, which opened to $42 million domestically.
Why It Struggled
Analysts point to timing as the film's central problem. Moana 2, the billion-dollar animated sequel, hit theaters around Thanksgiving 2024, just 20 months before the live-action remake's release. "The last 'Moana' was a smash 20 months ago, but that makes this a very brief return for a remake," said David A. Gross, who publishes the box office newsletter FranchiseRe. "This story wasn't ready to come back, and audiences are not rushing to see it."
Critics were largely unimpressed, with the film sitting at 35% on Rotten Tomatoes and drawing criticism as a near shot-for-shot retread of the 2016 original. Audiences responded more favorably, awarding the film an "A-" CinemaScore grade, which Disney hopes will help drive word-of-mouth ticket sales in the coming weeks. That strategy worked for 2024's Mufasa: The Lion King, which opened softly at $35 million before climbing to $722 million globally, though that film benefited from a holiday release window with limited new competition. Moana, by contrast, is competing directly against Disney's own Toy Story 5 and Illumination's Minions & Monsters for family audiences this summer.
A Pattern in What Works and What Doesn't
Disney's most successful live-action remakes, including Beauty and the Beast (2017), Aladdin and The Lion King (both 2019), were all adaptations of animated films from the 1990s, each opening above $90 million domestically before crossing $1 billion worldwide globally. According to Gross, Disney has historically waited an average of 27 years before revisiting an animated title, a gap that allows a new generation of parents to reintroduce the story to their own children. "During that time, the remakes added an entirely new audience," Gross said. "It's been a very successful strategy."
Moana, released just a decade after its original, didn't have that same distance. Analysts note there's a delicate balance at play: wait too long, as with 2025's Snow White (based on the 1937 original) or 2019's Dumbo, and the property risks feeling culturally disconnected; move too quickly, and there isn't enough nostalgia to justify a theatrical ticket for a story audiences can already stream at home. "Disney's strategy is dependent on whether audiences see the remake as an event or a duplicate," said analyst Jeff Bock of Exhibitor Relations.
Moana's underperformance also marks the third consecutive disappointing wide release of the summer, following Supergirl and Minions & Monsters, even as the broader 2026 summer box office has otherwise performed well.
What's Next for Disney's Remake Pipeline
Despite Moana's stumble, industry analysts don't expect Disney to abandon the strategy altogether. Tangled, starring Kathryn Hahn as Mother Gothel, remains in production after being paused following Snow White's failure and revived once Lilo & Stitch became a box office success last year. Disney is also said to be prioritizing a live-action Lilo & Stitch sequel, along with potential spinoffs centered on Cinderella's stepsisters and Beauty and the Beast's Gaston. A live-action Frozen is also considered likely at some point.
"Disney will keep making these," said box office analyst Paul Dergarabedian. "For every one that doesn't do well, there will be a 'Lilo & Stitch' that sets the world on fire. The studio just has to keep the budgets in line." With Moana needing roughly $600 million globally just to break even, some analysts note the film still has avenues to recoup value beyond its theatrical run, including strong streaming potential on Disney+ and ongoing revenue from theme park attractions and merchandise tied to the character.
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