Disney’s live-action Moana is sinking fast, and the numbers paint a brutal picture. The remake faces a massive gap between its current gross and break-even point as competition dominates screens.
Moana’s box office bomb leaves it way behind break-even point
Disney’s live-action Moana opened to $43 million domestically and $95 million globally, according to Variety. The film cost a staggering $250 million to produce and roughly $120 million more to promote. Meanwhile, Box Office Mojo places its current worldwide gross at $178.4 million after two weekends in theaters.
As a result, the film requires at least $600 million globally to break even, as theater owners keep about half of ticket revenue. Analyst Jeff Bock of Exhibitor Relations told Variety, “Disney’s strategy is dependent on whether audiences see the remake as an event or a duplicate. This was the latter. People wanted Moana 3, not a remake of the original.” Subsequently, the second weekend saw a steep 56% drop to $19 million domestically at 4,200 theaters.
Additionally, David A. Gross, who runs the FranchiseRe movie consulting firm, highlighted a timing problem with the revival. He told Variety, “The takeaway for Disney has to be, how long does it take for an animated film to become a classic? It takes time to be a classic, not just success.” Notably, the original Moana released only a decade ago, and its animated sequel opened in late 2024.
On top of that, Dwayne Johnson earned close to $30 million as a producer and star on the project. The 2023 labor strikes further delayed production and added to the budget. Moana also faces stiff competition from Toy Story 5, Minions and Monsters, and Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, which claimed all premium large-format screens upon its Thursday debut.
Rentrak’s Paul Dergarabedian told Variety, “Opening weekend is important, but Moana is going to be about long-term playability. That means you don’t want to see a 60-70% second-weekend drop.” However, the film posted exactly that kind of decline in its sophomore frame.
