Disney’s live-action remake of Moana opened to just $43 million domestically this weekend, a rough result given its massive $250 million production budget. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film had been tracking for a much stronger $60–75 million opening just weeks ago, making the final number a real disappointment for the studio.
The struggle wasn’t limited to North America. The film brought in just $52 million internationally, falling short of Disney’s own projection of $75 million overseas. That puts its total worldwide opening at only $95 million, a concerning number given the $250 million spent to make it. Even its top overseas markets, like Australia, France, and Korea, came in fairly modest for a big-budget tentpole, and the film performed especially poorly in China, earning just $1.2 million there.
The film landed a weak 34 percent score from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, making it one of the worst-reviewed live-action Disney remakes yet. Interestingly, regular moviegoers felt very differently, giving it a solid A- on CinemaScore, with viewers under 18 rating it even higher at A+. Audiences on Rotten Tomatoes have also rated it far higher than critics did.
Industry analysts believe timing was one of the biggest reasons behind the film’s disappointing start. Fandango’s Shawn Robbins told The Hollywood Reporter that timing simply worked against the film this time around. He noted that some past remakes found the right nostalgic moment, like Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King, all of which opened above $90 million domestically on their way to billion-dollar runs worldwide. He added that success for these remakes really depends on the individual title, since there’s no single formula that guarantees a hit anymore.
Other trade outlets see this as part of a bigger pattern this year. Boxoffice Pro pointed out that Moana has now joined a growing list of major franchises struggling to draw crowds in 2026, following shaky results for recent Star Wars and DC releases. Some commentators have used the term “franchise fatigue” to describe this trend, though others feel it’s being applied too loosely, since Minions & Monsters still opened respectably despite carrying the same label.
Unlike those older classics, Moana is a fairly recent film, and Moana 2 only came out in theaters in late 2024, earning over a billion dollars worldwide. With Dwayne Johnson already having voiced Maui again so recently, many fans may have felt they didn’t need another trip to the island just yet. The remake also had to compete directly with two other family films already doing well in theaters—Disney’s own Toy Story 5 and Illumination’s Minions & Monsters—both of which likely pulled away some of the same audience.
This debut puts Moana in the same rough territory as last year’s Snow White, which opened to $42.2 million, and 2019’s Dumbo, which opened to $45.9 million. On the flip side, hits like The Little Mermaid and last year’s Lilo & Stitch, which opened to a massive $183 million, show that audiences are still willing to show up for these remakes when the timing and story feel right.
Despite the shaky opening, Disney has reasons to stay hopeful. The strong audience scores suggest the film could still hold up well in the coming weeks. Up next in the live-action pipeline is Tangled, currently filming in Spain, along with a Lilo & Stitch sequel already in the works. Other planned remakes, including Robin Hood, Bambi, and The Sword in the Stone, remain stuck in development for now. As for Johnson, he’ll next appear in Sony’s Jumanji: Open World later this year.
Moana‘s stumble adds to a bumpy stretch for Hollywood this summer, following other underwhelming openings like Supergirl and Masters of the Universe. Still, 2026 has had its share of big wins too, with The Super Mario Galaxy Movie and Michael both crossing a billion dollars globally. As Robbins put it in his conversation with The Hollywood Reporter, the summer has leaned heavily on just a handful of major hits to carry the season, and Moana‘s underwhelming debut only adds further pressure on the big releases still to come, including The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
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