NOT FAR I'LL GO

Disney’s Live-Action ‘Moana’ Remake Hits Choppy Waters at the Box Office

With a $250 million production budget, the film is expected to generate significant losses.

Moana is set to become one of Disney’s worst-performing live-action remakes after debuting with a disappointing $43 million at the domestic box office. With a $250 million production budget, the film is expected to generate significant losses for Disney, which had projected at least a $60 million domestic debut and $140 million globally. It’s following a similar path to 2025’s disastrous Snow White remake, which opened with $42 million and was widely considered a box office bomb. Generally, live-action remakes perform well. Over the past decade, hits like Lilo & Stitch, The Lion King, Aladdin, and Beauty and the Beast have each grossed more than $1 billion worldwide. However, analysts believe the Moana live-action adaptation was produced too soon, failing to generate the nostalgia or excitement that fueled those earlier titles. The original film was released just a decade ago, and the 2024 animated sequel had already satisfied much of the fanbase. Second place this week went to Minions & Monsters, which earned $20.5 million domestically in its second week, bringing its global total to $280 million since its debut last week. The film is on track to turn a profit given its $85 million production budget. Not all the news was bad for Disney: Toy Story 5, now in its fourth week, earned $18.5 million—enough to make it the third highest-grossing movie in the U.S. and keep the film on track to surpass $1 billion worldwide, which would make it the franchise’s highest-grossing entry.