Moana disappoints at box office after live-action remake panned as ‘unnecessary’

The live-action remake of Moana is not going far at the box office.Disney’s new reimagining of the hit 2016 animated musical had a disappointing opening weekend, earning $43 million from 3,827 movie theatres in the U.S.

— which misses the mark of its $60 million target, and does not even come to a fifth of its massive $250 million production budget.Moana, directed by Thomas Kail and starring Dwayne Johnson and Catherine Laga’aia, also came up dry overseas, bringing in $52 million for a global opening of $95 million.The film was met with widespread criticism before it even opened due to its release coming less than a decade after the original movie — which has remained one of the most-streamed films in the U.

S. for years on Disney+ — and just two years after its sequel. Skepticism grew further when the first trailer revealed what fans bemoaned as a “shot for shot” redo of the animated film, with some left wondering why the remake was being made.

Most critics now appear to be asking the same question after seeing the movie. For The Independent, film critic Clarisse Loughrey rated Moana one star out of five and described it as a “waste of everyone’s time and talent.”The live-action remake of ‘Moana’ was not received well at the box office during its opening weekend (© 2026 Disney Enterprises, Inc.

All Rights Reserved.)“Is the situation really so dire that we'll now accept Dwayne Johnson repeating the exact same voice performance he gave a decade ago, only this time in live-action?” Loughrey wrote.

Peter Bradshaw wrote in The Guardian that the movie is a “competent but pointless and unexciting back-to-basics live-action remake,” adding: “This feels like a superfluous piece of monetizable content.”The new movie marks the latest of Disney’s live-action remake projects to fail after Snow White, starring Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot, earned a $42 million opening in March 2025. However, the company saw a win with the remake of Lilo & Stitch in May 2025, which opened to $146 million.

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This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.In contrast to its panning from critics, Moana is “verified hot” on Rotten Tomatoes with a 90 percent approval rating from audiences for now. The rare positive reviews insisted that the adaptation is different enough from the original movie to count, as The Hollywood Reporter’s David Rooney said in his review, “this charming new iteration stands confidently on its own.”

However, Moana is nearly guaranteed to hit even more trouble at the box office next weekend as Christopher Nolan’s highly anticipated The Odyssey hits theaters July 17.Join our commenting forumJoin thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their repliesComments