Key Takeaways:
Disney's live-action Moana remake opened with $45 million domestically, falling short of projections and marking the studio's worst live-action debut since Snow White.
"The film's performance reflects growing audience fatigue with Disney's remake strategy," said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore.
The $200 million-budgeted film earned $18.2 million on opening day from 3,872 locations, according to industry estimates. That compares with Snow White's $42.2 million opening weekend in March 2025, which went on to gross just $82.7 million domestically. Critics panned the remake with a 36% Rotten Tomatoes score from 77 reviews, versus 95% for the 2016 original from 288 reviews, though audiences gave it an A- CinemaScore.
The weak opening puts Disney on track for its second consecutive live-action remake flop after Snow White lost an estimated $170 million. The original Moana generated $643 million globally in 2016, while its 2024 sequel surpassed $1 billion. The remake would need to earn close to $900 million worldwide to match the original's box office performance.
Competition from Universal's Minions & Monsters, which earned $21 million in its second weekend for a $108 million domestic total, and Disney's own Toy Story 5, which added $18.5 million in its fourth weekend to cross $400 million domestically, contributed to the soft opening. The Moana remake earned just £775,000 in the UK on its opening day, weighed down by World Cup quarterfinals.
The film's performance raises questions about Disney's strategy of converting animated hits into live-action spectacles. Of the studio's 10 major live-action remakes, only The Jungle Book (2016) scored higher with critics than its animated original. Four remakes — The Lion King at $1.66 billion, Beauty and the Beast at $1.27 billion, Aladdin at $1.05 billion and Lilo & Stitch at $1.04 billion — crossed $1 billion worldwide, but the trend has weakened in recent years.
The Moana remake's underperformance signals that Disney's live-action pipeline may face diminishing returns. Investors will watch Disney's next quarterly earnings for any revision to the studio's theatrical slate strategy.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
