- Moana had a disappointing weekend at the box office, earning only $95 million on its massive $250 million budget
- The live-action remake currently sits at 33% on Rotten Tomatoes
- Fans criticized Moana to be an exact replica of the beloved animated film
Moana recently headed to theaters, but its opening weekend was a poor performance for one of July’s biggest new films.
The original Moana The film was a huge success for Disney, grossing $687.2 million at the worldwide box office. But based on the opening weekend, it doesn’t look like the 2026 live-action remake. will follow in his footsteps.
At the time of writing this article, the new Moana earned only $95 million of its massive $250 million budget, making it one of Disney’s worst-performing films.
It also received a disappointing review Rotten Tomatoes has a score of 33%, with the critics consensus saying: “The sea calls no man in this disappointing new version of Moanaa venture that solidifies its animated predecessor as a superior adventure.
Moana was called ‘lifeless’ by viewers
Many fans of the original Moana The film expressed disappointment, describing the new live-action version as flat and a “carbon copy” of the original, according to this scathing review from the Associated Press.
X fans also had a lot to say, with some wondering what the point of making a live action movie for Moana was. There was a lot of negative reaction, making it a disappointing entry into Disney’s library.
The original Moana is incredible. I have it on Blu-ray. This live-action remake (which is also mostly animated) makes no sense to me, either from an artistic standpoint or from a consumer standpoint. I mean, money is the ultimate motivator I guess, but who wants less… https://t.co/UtmsmHm2p7July 12, 2026
Another X user commented that their main problem was the lack of quality, noting that nothing on the Moana the live action was better than the original. They also cited The Lion King And Aladdin as having “new elements justifying their existence”, but asserted that Moana I didn’t have that.
My main problem with the Disney Live-Action remakes isn’t how lazy they are, but how much the overall quality has declined. As at least with The Lion King and Aladdin, they are technical marvels with new elements that justify their existence, what does Moana have that is better than the original? https://t.co/8nAg33HGOFJuly 12, 2026
Moana is the first time they’ve done a live-action remake of a movie that *I love* and it depresses me so much, why is it so lifelessJuly 2, 2026
Finally, another user pointed out that he preferred to watch the snow White redo Moana. snow White also underperformed at the box office, but has a slightly higher Rotten Tomatoes score of 39%.
I wouldn’t go so far as to say that anyone owes the SNOW WHITE remake an apology, but I would 100% watch it and never watch MOANA ’26 a second time. A truly discouraging, flat and lifeless experience. Better than that movie THE LION KING though.July 8, 2026
If you want to see for yourself, Moana is now playing in cinemas around the world. But judging by early reports, you might want to head over to Disney+ to check out the original, and it’s admittedly a very good sequel, Moana 2.
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