Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson had a wig on this weekend, and barely anyone was around to see it. The latest Moana botched its debut and became one of Disney’s lowest-opening live-action remakes ever.How far it didn’t go: Moana made $95 million at the global box office, a “brutal” start considering the film cost $350+ million to make and market, per the New York Times. Domestically:Moana made $43 million, missing Disney’s goal of $60+ million.In comparison, the animated Moana and Moana 2 opened to ~$57 million in 2016 and ~$140 million in 2024, respectively.Cause of flop: CGI-heavy, shot-for-shot visuals that made Moana feel like “a glossy digital clone of the original,” per Polygon. It was also poor timing:Disney typically waits 27 years on average for live-action remakes of its animated classics, according to film consultant David A. Gross, but the new Moana waited only a decade.It also shared the weekend with Minions & Monsters and Disney’s own Toy Story 5.Zoom out: Disney is running out of animated originals to remake. Since 2010, it’s done Snow White, Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, Dumbo, The Lion King, Aladdin, Lady and the Tramp, Mulan, Pinocchio, The Jungle Book, Peter Pan, The Little Mermaid, and Lilo & Stitch. Disney’s last original live-action franchise hit was Pirates of the Caribbean.—ML
Money & Finance·Jul 14, 2026
Another Disney remake falls in the forest
Moana made $95 million at the global box office, a “brutal” start considering the film cost $350+ million to make and market, per the New York Times.
Morning Brew1 min readVerified
The gist
5-point summary · 1 minMoana made $95 million at the global box office, a “brutal” start considering the film cost $350+ million to make and market, per the New York Times.
- Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson had a wig on this weekend, and barely anyone was around to see it.
- It was also poor timing:Disney typically waits 27 years on average for live-action remakes of its animated classics, according to film consultant David A.
- Gross, but the new Moana waited only a decade.It also shared the weekend with Minions & Monsters and Disney’s own Toy Story 5.Zoom out: Disney is running out of animated originals to remake.
- Since 2010, it’s done Snow White, Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, Dumbo, The Lion King, Aladdin, Lady and the Tramp, Mulan, Pinocchio, The Jungle Book, Peter Pan, The Little Mermaid, and Lilo & Stitch.
- Disney’s last original live-action franchise hit was Pirates of the Caribbean.—ML
$95 million$350$43 million$60$57 million$140 million
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