The live-action remake of Moana, which sees The Rock once again play the role of Maui, has not hit the same heights as the animated movies that came before it.
The 2026 film drew $43 million in the United States and $52 million internationally for a $95 million worldwide total at the box office. The film’s budget was $250 million, not accounting for marketing and promotion. Moana also narrowly beat the lowest-performing live-action Disney remake in history, Snow White. The remake of the 1937 film drew $42 million domestically on its opening weekend.
By contrast, the 2016 original Moana drew $53 million on its opening weekend, with the figure not being adjusted for inflation. The 2024 sequel Moana 2 shattered all records with an opening weekend of $139.7 million.
It has been speculated that strong competition at cinemas may also account for a poor opening weekend. With Minions & Monsters and Toy Story 5 also playing in cinemas, there are 3 big kids movies all competing at the same time. Strong competition is set to continue over the next few weeks with Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day also coming soon.
Bad News For Moana Continues
The live-action remake was not well-received by critics, with review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes giving the movie a score of less than 40% in the days before the release. Critics praised Catherine Laga’aia for her performance in the titular role, but found issue with the remake being virtually shot for shot compared to the original. Critics also took issue with the CGI, which took a lot of the charm away that made the 2016 original such a hit.
