Disney live Moana It wasn’t as big of a summer hit as the studio had hoped, leading to questions not only about what might be in store at the box office for the Dwayne Johnson-led title but also about the possibility of developing remakes of other animated favorites.
After last year Lilo and Stitch The live-action game had a record opening weekend of $183 million over four days domestically before surpassing $1 billion in its global run. Moana It looks like a potential win heading into the summer. After all, the 2016 animated original — starring Johnson as the voice of the demigod Maui who helps the titular girl (Auli’i Cravalho) save her island — has become a beloved family property and is the most-watched feature on Disney+. And of course, Moana 2 Excitement for the new theatrical entries from the franchise was confirmed when it reached $1 billion following its November 2024 release – although there’s more to discuss with that film in a moment.
Although Disney expects the film to have an opening exceeding $60 million domestically after third-party tracking initially indicated the film could reach $75 million, the film is realistically… Moana It was left gasping at the box office. Its $43 million opening in North America puts it in questionable company as one of the weakest starts for Disney remakes and is especially difficult given its $250 million production budget. Another miss included the opening of last year’s Rachel Ziegler and Gal Gadot film with $42.2 million. snow white The $45.9 million 2019 bow is directed by Tim Burton Dumbothough both of those re-imagined originals are from previous generations and may have felt dated for younger audiences. In addition, direct action snow white She found herself caught up in the culture wars.
Starring Catherine Lagaia in the new lead role Moana She had some hits against her which held up the opening. Its 34 percent approval score from critics on Rotten Tomatoes places it among the worst reviewed live-action updates, though fan response was another story, as it earned an A- CinemaScore, including an A+ from those under 18, and was “verified hot” with a 90 percent Rotten Tomatoes audience rating.
while Lilo and Stitch It gave audiences more than two decades to miss the first film — and likely had the advantage of millennial parents wanting to share the story with their kids — Moana It was the latest original to get the live-action Disney treatment. Moana 2 It was initially conceived as a Disney+ series but was flipped to a 2024 theatrical release, complicating the timing of the live-action film that had begun production earlier that year. Since Johnson was the one voicing the sequel, fans may have felt like they had already scratched their voices Moana Itching at the moment.
It also faced competition for families from summer titles such as Disney titles Toy Story 5 And lighting Minions and monsters. However, the latter may have dealt with some fatigue of its own when opening over the Fourth of July weekend to the lowest domestic amount of Despicable me privilege.
“Everything is timing in this business, and it didn’t work out Moana“It works to our advantage in this case,” says Sean Robbins, director of analytics at Fandango and founder of the Box Office Theory. Hollywood Reporter. He points out that some titles have found a niche to capitalize on nostalgia, such as Disney live-action events. beauty and the beast (2017), Aladdin (2019) and The lion king (2019), with this reimagining of the 1990s originals, all opened to over $90 million domestically on their way to surpassing $1 billion globally. Another success last year was Universal’s 2010 live-action remake of the film How to train your dragon.
“It’s always a case-by-case basis,” Robbins says, as to which Disney films can still work. In fact, featured projects that were previously in development before seemingly being halted included live-action versions of Disney films Robin Hood, Bambi, Aristocrats and The sword in the stone. But strong returns on recent offers such as… Little mermaid and Mufasa Proving that fans can still invest in new looks for popular characters. “Who knows where Disney goes from here?”
Disney aims to get the recipe right for tangledas a live-action retelling of the 2010 animated film centering on Rapunzel is currently in production in Spain. Weeks later snow white’After a disappointing launch in 2025, the studio chose to pause development tangled But it resumed its progress in the fall after the out-of-this-world box office reception for Lilo and Stitch. Talking about the latter is a live action Lilo and Stitch A sequel is also in the works, and there are certainly a lot of fans holding their collective breath as a live-action sequel Frozen Ends in development.
the Moana The team can take heart in knowing that the live-action film has its share of vocal supporters. “Listen to the people who attended, rather than to the people who hate it and no one sees it just because.” Role models Screenwriter Timothy Dowling wrote over the weekend praising the new film Moana. Given the positive exit results, Disney is still hopeful that the film will be a hit, as the primary box office draw over the next two weekends will be the R-rated Christopher Nolan film. Odyssey.
As for Johnson — who was cited as a major draw for those who watched the movie this weekend — Moana 2 It was a bright spot at the box office amid the star’s recent stretch involving commercial missteps Black Adam, Red one and Crushing machine. He will return to another proven franchise later this year with Sony Jumanji: Open Worldwhich will hopefully impress audiences despite opening only a week after both Avengers: Doomsday and Sand Dunes: Part Three.
As for the bigger picture of 2026, the spring was full of promise, thanks Super Mario Galaxy movie and Michael – both of which crossed the $1 billion mark globally – and other similar hits Hail Mary project and The devil wears prada 2. Summer has brought reasons to celebrate, including Toy Story 5 He appears to be headed to the 10-figure club, not to mention the breakouts mania and Back rooms. But there have been volatile final weeks with disappointments such as… SupergirlIn addition to the month of June Masters of the universe. Odyssey and Spider-Man: A Brand New Day There are two giants waiting later this month.
“It’s been a tough summer,” admits Robbins, who points out that the season’s biggest successes had to carry some heavy burdens for the industry as a whole. “Now there have been a few poor performers in a row. This really confirms what the forecast has been for a long time, which is that it’s going to be a very heavy summer for the most part — and probably all year.”
