‘Moana’ joins ‘Snow White’ as latest Disney live-action film to bomb at the box office

Disney Studios’ lazy remake era may be coming to an end, mercifully.

Disney, for much of the past decade, has made a point of abandoning original films to take its popular catalog of animated films and turn them into “live action”. Some of these have been critically or commercially successful, such as the 2015 remake of “Cinderella,” 2016’s “The Jungle Book,” or the 2019 remake of “The Lion King,” which mysteriously made $1.7 billion worldwide.

As recently as 2025, “Lilo & Stitch” grossed over $1 billion worldwide. But these success stories are accompanied by many failures, both financial and otherwise. And hopefully the disastrous mistakes of its latest efforts stop the endless stream of ill-conceived and ill-made movies churned out by the once-proud studio.

LIVE-ACTION REMAKE OF ‘MOANA’ IS SLAMMED BY CRITICS IN LATEST BLOWOUT AT DISNEY STUDIO.

“Snow White,” and from 2025, became one of the biggest financial problems in the modern history of Hollywood, an unfortunate result given a long list of obvious mistakes. Star Rachel Zegler was not well received, and spent much of the promotional period criticizing the original classic. The negative reaction to the leaked footage led to a year-long delay as the film was reshot and edited to salvage the plot.

It didn’t work. Zegler’s performance was largely underwhelming, his condescending statements and attitude affected attendance, and the film lost Disney an astonishing $170 million. This past weekend, even without the same level of negative press as previous releases, “Moana” opened in theaters. And it tracks significantly into the same loss.

Surprisingly, Disney gave the “live action” version of “Moana” a whopping budget of $250 million. It does not involve a large marketing fee. Assuming at least $100 million in marketing costs, a reasonable number for a big-budget film, that’s $350 million in production costs. Assuming a 50/50 revenue split with theaters, that’s about a $700 million break-even point.

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In its first weekend, which is about 40% of the film’s box office total, it made…$43 million. If that 40% rule is true, that’s only $107 million at the domestic box office. The former made $248 million in 2016, roughly the equivalent of $346.5 million after adjusting for inflation.

This photo released by Disney shows Dwayne Johnson as Maui in a scene from “Moana.” (Disney via AP)

“Moana” may do much better at the global box office, like its predecessor, but it’s unlikely to come close to breaking even, let alone profiting, given this disappointing opening weekend. In fact, Disney estimates a weekend of $60-$65 million and $140 million worldwide. Bad numbers already. It raised about $50 million, for a total of $95 million.

Considering the huge cost, this film will lose at least 150 million dollars for the Disney studios, even approaching the debate of “Snow White”. So what happened?

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Reviews were negative, as critics and viewers saw a lack of effort put into the project. Between Dwayne Johnson’s hideous wig, atrocious special effects, and obviously fake, empty backgrounds that looked like the colorful world of the original, there was no reason to expect quality. The original is only 10 years old, and is readily available on streaming services. Many moviegoers see it as a money grab.

And Johnson’s insufferable comments about representation didn’t help. During a recent interview on the red carpet during the release, he told Variety that he believes “Moana” is important for its representation and appearance, explaining, “‘Indiana Jones’ inspired me. When I was 8 years old watching Harrison Ford, I was like, ‘I want to be that boy,’ but that boy didn’t look like me.”

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Did that comment cause the film to explode? No, it’s not. But it’s another reminder of just how obsessed Hollywood is with this kind of misguided, attention-grabbing crossover. No, Johnson did not look like Harrison Ford. He has also become one of the most popular and successful actors in modern entertainment because many people who are not like him identify with his wrestling character or enjoy his acting. Shouldn’t people “underrepresented” in “Moana” see the movie? Is that the only reason it was made?

Dwayne Johnson arrives at the premiere of “Moana” on Tuesday, July 7, 2026, at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP) (AP Photo/Richard Shotwell)

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All of these factors play a role in Disney taking another big loss. They ran out of ideas and animated films to remake, resulting in a sad, ill-conceived remake like this one. They overspend on budgets and marketing, only to see talent undermine their efforts. There is new leadership at the top of the Disney organization, and their first lesson and top priority should be to end the era of live-action laziness and ban the word “representation” from anything and everything associated with the company.