The Moana franchise has become one of Disney's most lucrative properties. The first instalment grossed $687.2 million in 2016, and the 2024 sequel—which started as a Disney+ TV series—made over $1 billion.
Next month, Moana gets the live-action treatment in what looks like a 1:1 adaptation of the original animated feature. Dwayne Johnson is reprising his role as Maui, and while there have been grumblings on social media about how he looks in the role (the actor has donned a muscle suit and wig), that seemingly hasn't dampened excitement. Well, perhaps a little.
According to Deadline, Moana is eyeing an $85 million opening weekend in North America. This is lower than expected, and puts it in the same ballpark as the How to Train Your Dragon remake that had an $84.6 million start.
Moana opened with $56.5 million in 2016, but the sequel exceeded expectations with a whopping $139.7 million eight years later (and $225.4 million over the five-day Thanksgiving weekend).
If this remake follows the same trajectory as How to Train Your Dragon, it could finish its run in the same ballpark ($636.6 million). Whether Disney would consider that a win or a failure is hard to say, though it has been widely reported that Moana's production budget was a massive $200 million.
After a string of box office flops and a failed Oscar campaign, Johnson was likely expecting that, like the animated sequel, he'd be in for an easy win with Moana. However, audiences have grown tired of Disney's live-action remakes, with all but a few receiving middling responses from critics and fans.
Snow White may have been the straw that broke the camel's back, but Lilo & Stitch's $1 billion success is proof that these movies can still attract audiences. The key difference is that the movie opened with $146 million, which is considerably more than Moana's $85 million. Ultimately, its success will boil down to whether it has (sea) legs at the worldwide box office.
In Moana, Disney’s live-action reimagining of the beloved Oscar-nominated animated adventure, Moana answers the Ocean’s call and, for the first time, voyages beyond the reef of her island of Motunui with the infamous demigod Maui on an unforgettable journey to restore prosperity to her people.
Moana's cast is led by Dwayne Johnson, Catherine Laga'aia, Rena Owen, John Tui, Frankie Adams, and Jemaine Clement.
The film is directed by Emmy and Tony Award winner Thomas Kail (Hamilton); produced by Dwayne Johnson, p.g.a., Beau Flynn, p.g.a., Dany Garcia, Hiram Garcia, p.g.a. and Lin-Manuel Miranda; and executive produced by Scott Sheldon, Charles Newirth, Kail and Auli'i Cravalho, who voiced Moana in the animated films Moana and Moana 2.
The remake features original songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Opetaia Foaʻi and Mark Mancina, and an original score composed by Mancina.
Moana splashes down in theaters on July 10, 2026.