Disney’s $250 Million ‘Moana’ Remake Hits Choppy Waters at the Box Office

 

Disney’s $250 Million ‘Moana’ Remake Hits Choppy Waters at the Box Office

Disney’s live-action “Moana” sailed into theaters Friday, but its first-day business suggests the studio may not have another “Lilo & Stitch”-sized success on its hands.

The remake collected an estimated $18 million Friday from 3,875 North American theaters and is now expected to finish the weekend with approximately $40 million to $45 million. That would place the film at No. 1, but well below earlier tracking that suggested a debut of at least $60 million. It would also fall short of the $56.6 million three-day opening of the original animated “Moana” in 2016.

The softer-than-expected start matters because Disney reportedly spent roughly $250 million on the live-action production before marketing costs. The original animated film carried a reported budget of between $150 million and $175 million and ultimately earned approximately $643 million worldwide. At its current pace, the remake will need strong international business and staying power throughout the summer to justify its price tag.

Disney had ample reason to believe audiences would return to Motunui. The original “Moana” became a larger phenomenon after leaving theaters, finishing as the most-watched streaming movie in the United States in both 2023 and 2024. Nielsen reported more than 13 billion minutes of viewing on Disney+ during 2024 alone.

“Moana 2,” which began development as a Disney+ television series before being reworked for theaters, delivered a record-setting $225 million over the five-day Thanksgiving period in 2024 and went on to cross $1 billion worldwide. The sequel’s success appeared to confirm that “Moana” had become one of Disney’s most valuable contemporary franchises.

The live-action film’s opening, however, raises another question: How much “Moana” is too much “Moana”? The animated original arrived only 10 years ago, while “Moana 2” was released less than two years before the remake. Audiences who can already watch both animated movies at home may see little urgency in paying for another version of essentially the same adventure.

The results also represent the latest test of Disney’s live-action-remake strategy. The studio turned “The Jungle Book,” “Beauty and the Beast” and “The Lion King” into enormous worldwide earners, with the latter two crossing $1 billion. More recent results have been uneven. “The Little Mermaid” finished with approximately $570 million worldwide, while “Snow White,” one of Disney’s most expensive productions, stalled at roughly $205 million.

Then came “Lilo & Stitch,” which crossed $1 billion worldwide after its May 2025 release and became the first Hollywood movie of that year to reach the milestone. Its success demonstrated that audiences had not rejected Disney remakes outright. The early “Moana” numbers suggest that familiarity alone may no longer be enough—particularly when the original remains widely watched and relatively recent.

The new “Moana” follows the broad outline of the 2016 film, with the title character leaving Motunui and traveling beyond the reef with the demigod Maui to restore prosperity to her people. Catherine Laga’aia stars as Moana, while Dwayne Johnson reprises the role of Maui, whom he voiced in the animated films. John Tui, Frankie Adams, Rena Owen and Jemaine Clement round out the principal cast. Thomas Kail, best known for directing the Broadway production and filmed presentation of “Hamilton,” makes his feature-film directing debut.

“Evil Dead Burn” opened in second place with an estimated $6.7 million Friday from 3,004 domestic theaters and is heading toward a weekend of approximately $15 million. That would be below the $24.5 million opening of “Evil Dead Rise” in 2023, although the horror franchise operates with considerably lower financial stakes than Disney’s latest tentpole.

Directed by Sébastien Vaniček, “Evil Dead Burn” centers on a grieving family gathering that descends into Deadite mayhem. The cast includes Souheila Yacoub, Hunter Doohan, Luciane Buchanan, Tandi Wright and Erroll Shand. Vaniček wrote the screenplay with Florent Bernard; “Evil Dead” creator Sam Raimi served as a producer rather than a co-writer.

Universal and Illumination’s “Minions & Monsters” took third place Friday with approximately $6.5 million as it entered its second weekend. The animated sequel is projected to earn around $21 million through Sunday, bringing its domestic total to approximately $108 million. The film opened over the July Fourth holiday with $36.4 million for the traditional three-day weekend and $61.4 million over five days—the lowest debut in the “Despicable Me” franchise.

“Toy Story 5” followed in fourth place with an estimated $5.7 million Friday. It is expected to collect approximately $18 million for the weekend, pushing its domestic total beyond $400 million. The Pixar sequel is also approaching $1 billion worldwide and remains on track to challenge the $1.07 billion global finish of “Toy Story 4.”

A24’s “The Invite” rounded out the top five with approximately $2.4 million Friday as it expanded nationwide. Directed by and starring Olivia Wilde, the comedy follows a struggling married couple whose evening with their uninhibited upstairs neighbors takes an increasingly revealing turn. Seth Rogen, Penélope Cruz and Edward Norton also star.

The film represents a very different financial proposition from “Moana.” A24 acquired the United States distribution rights after its Sundance premiere for around $10 million, following a competitive bidding process. Even a modest theatrical run could therefore deliver meaningful value for the distributor.

For Disney, the weekend carries considerably more weight. “Moana” may still benefit from family audiences, international markets and limited competition later in its run. But its opening suggests that one of the studio’s safest brands is no longer an automatic theatrical event—and that the cost of repeatedly returning to familiar waters may finally be catching up with the company.