In 2016, Walt Disney Co.\u2019s \u201cMoana\u201d became a box office hit, captivating audiences with catchy earworms from Lin-Manuel Miranda and a spunky young heroine who rejected the label of princess.<\/p>\n
Now, just 10 years later, it\u2019s the latest Disney animated film to be given the live-action treatment.<\/p>\n
Burbank-based Disney has long reached into its vault in search of animated classics to redo in a live-action format. But a decade is the shortest time between one of the company\u2019s original animated movies and the reimagined film. (2025\u2019s \u201cLilo & Stitch,\u201d which originally debuted in 2002, is the next closest with a gap of 23 years.)<\/p>\n
Why go back to \u201cMoana\u201d so soon? The Polynesian wayfarer is extremely popular.<\/p>\n
The 2016 animated film grossed more than $643 million at the global box office, then spawned a 2024 sequel that made more than $1 billion worldwide. The original is the most-watched movie in Disney+ history with more than 1.5 billion hours of viewing.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery once in a while in Hollywood, we make a film that is more than a film,\u201d actor Dwayne Johnson, who reprises his role as the demigod Maui, said onstage during the movie\u2019s premiere Tuesday at the Hollywood Bowl after a Polynesian dance performance. \u201cI think you could feel it already tonight, with our culture and with what we have represented. But also not only our Polynesian culture … it\u2019s also a shared culture around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
The latest \u201cMoana,\u201d out this weekend, will join a cadre of family films<\/a> at the multiplex. <\/p>\n That includes Disney and Pixar\u2019s \u201cToy Story 5,\u201d which has now racked up more than $774 million worldwide, and Universal Pictures and Illumination\u2019s \u201cMinions & Monsters,\u201d which debuted domestically last week to a softer-than-expected opening<\/a> of $62 million for the five-day Fourth of July holiday weekend.<\/p>\n The weaker haul for \u201cMinions & Monsters\u201d has led to questions about whether there are too many family films in theaters, which could affect the reception for the latest iteration of \u201cMoana.\u201d But as the last of this summer\u2019s trio of major animated films, the runway could be clear for the film to build steam.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think two movies make saturation,\u201d said Andrew Cripps, head of theatrical distribution for Walt Disney Studios. \u201cThere\u2019s a huge fanbase for the \u2018Moana\u2019 franchise.\u201d<\/p>\n But with two \u201cMoana\u201d movies in the last decade, will audiences flock to another film? Analysts are expecting an opening weekend haul of $75 million, though studio estimates are closer to $60 million to $65 million. The film\u2019s production budget is about $250 million.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you look at these massive movies that were just incredible \u2014 \u2018The Lion King,\u2019 \u2018Aladdin,\u2019 \u2018Beauty and the Beast\u2019 \u2014 they were brought back after years and years,\u201d said David A. Gross, who writes the industry newsletter FranchiseRe. \u201cI think there\u2019s an argument that says absence makes the heart grow fonder with some of these. We\u2019ll see.\u201d<\/p>\n Early reviews of the film have been mixed, and \u201cMoana\u201d has so far notched a 37% rating on aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. The movie is a nearly frame-by-frame recreation of the original.<\/p>\n Disney\u2019s live-action remakes have largely been box-office boons for the company, with a few exceptions.<\/p>\n In the last 16 years, five films have grossed more than $1 billion globally, including 2017\u2019s \u201cBeauty and the Beast\u201d and 2019\u2019s \u201cThe Lion King\u201d and \u201cAladdin.\u201d (Other live-action spin-offs based on classic animated movies, such as 2024\u2019s \u201cMufasa: The Lion King\u201d and 2014\u2019s \u201cMaleficent,\u201d also had solid performances.)<\/p>\n \u201cIt goes back to the original [intellectual property] of these movies,\u201d Cripps said of the importance of live-action films for Disney\u2019s slate. \u201cPeople grow up with it, they become fans of it, they live with it. When you\u2019ve got IP that resonates so well literally around the world with fans, I just think it\u2019s a clever extension.\u201d<\/p>\n There have been some notable misfires, including last year\u2019s \u201cSnow White,\u201d which cratered at the box office amid a myriad of controversies<\/a>, including racist backlash to the casting of Rachel Zegler, who is of Colombian descent, as the titular princess, its depiction of little people and its lead actors\u2019 views on the Israel-Hamas war.<\/p>\n