Disney’s live-action Moana remake could lose between $100 million and $125 million, Deadline reports.
Moana Losing Disney $100M+
Released less than two years after the animated Moana 2 grossed over $1 billion, live-action Moana is on track to maybe make $250M. Its opening weekend only earned $43M in the U.S. and Canada, and a worldwide total of $95M.
It’s barely ahead of the controversy-plagued live-action Snow White, which made $42.2M in North America and $87M worldwide on its opening weekend. And Moana has had none of the same drama.
Disney lost an estimated $170 million with Snow White.
As Deadline points out, Disney released Moana at a bad time. It comes on the heels of Disney’s Toy Story 5, which has been in theaters for less than a month, grossing $879M so far. It’s also competing with Illumination and Universal’s Minions & Monsters.
Live-action Moana was originally scheduled for release in summer 2025 but Disney moved it to 2026 after the November 2024 Moana 2 release date was announced. One veteran film finance source told Deadline, “Disney knew when they re-dated Moana that they had Moana 2 and Toy Story 5 in the mix; why they even considered a release date in 2026 blows my mind.”
The film’s budget was an estimated $250 million before advertising.
Critics and audiences are divided on Moana, though. It’s considered “Rotten” by critics with a 33% on Rotten Tomatoes. But it’s Verified Hot by audiences, currently sitting at a 90% Popcornmeter.
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