The demigod returned. The island called again. But this time, fewer people answered. Disney’s big-budget gamble on ‘Moana’ opened soft, falling short of the very film it remade.
Image Source: Disney
Disney’s live-action ‘Moana’ topped the Friday box office. But the number behind that win is not exactly a celebration.
The film pulled in about 18 million dollars on Friday. That total came from 3,875 theaters across North America, and it included Thursday preview showings.
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Early estimates now put the full three-day weekend at around 45 million dollars. That is a rough landing for a movie many expected to clear 60 million, and some trackers had even floated numbers as high as 85 million just weeks ago.
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Here is the number that stings most. The 2016 animated “Moana” opened to 56 million dollars over its debut weekend. This new live-action version is tracking below that, a decade later and with a much bigger budget behind it.
Disney spent 250 million dollars making this remake. That is well above the 175 million spent on the original animated film. A soft opening like this means the studio will need the movie to hold strong in theaters for weeks to come, just to get close to breaking even.
The story follows the same path as the original. A young Polynesian girl leaves her home island for the first time. Her mission is to stop an ancient curse from spreading further.
Dwayne Johnson returns as the demigod Maui, a role he first played in animated form back in 2016. Catherine Laga’aia steps into the title role of Moana. The supporting cast includes John Tui, Frankie Adams, Rena Owen and Jemaine Clement.
Thomas Kail directed the film. He is best known for helming the filmed version of “Hamilton” for Disney.
It is easy to see why Disney took the risk. The “Moana” franchise has been one of the studio’s most reliable performers, both in theaters and at home.
The original film earned 642 million dollars worldwide during its theatrical run. It also became one of the most watched titles ever on Disney+, a streaming hit that never really faded.
Then came “Moana 2” in 2024. That sequel began life as a planned television series before Disney reworked it into a feature film. It ended up setting a Thanksgiving weekend record, debuting to 225 million dollars.
“Moana” was not the only new release fighting for attention this weekend.
“Evil Dead Burn” opened in second place, earning about 6.7 million dollars from 3,004 screens. Its three-day total is projected near 15 million dollars. That is a step down from the 25 million dollar debut of its predecessor, “Evil Dead Rise,” back in 2023. That earlier film went on to gross 147 million dollars worldwide.
Meanwhile, “Toy Story 5” held steady in its fourth weekend. The Pixar sequel added roughly 5.6 million dollars on Friday, putting it on pace for around 18 million for the weekend. That keeps it charging toward the 800 million dollar mark globally.
Industry watchers point to a few reasons why “Moana” may be struggling to connect with audiences.
For one, this remake arrives less than two years after “Moana 2” hit theaters. Some analysts wonder if audiences are simply tired of returning to the same story so soon.
There is also ongoing skepticism around Disney’s live-action remakes in general. Recent efforts like “Snow White,” which opened to 42 million dollars in 2025, have struggled to justify their budgets. Not every remake has failed. Films like “The Lion King,” “Aladdin” and last year’s “Lilo & Stitch” all crossed the billion dollar mark worldwide.
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