Updated

Updated · Business Insider · Jul 13

Disney's Live-Action Moana Opens to $43 Million as Analysts Question Remake Strategy

Updated

Updated · Business Insider · Jul 13

Disney's Live-Action Moana Opens to $43 Million as Analysts Question Remake Strategy

Q: Is Catherine Laga'aia's debut strong enough to save a remake critics are calling creatively bankrupt?

Not on the evidence available so far. Early reaction suggests Catherine Laga'aia is one of the remake’s clearest strengths, but not enough by itself to overcome broader complaints that the film is too derivative. The strongest praise in the first social-media responses is aimed at Laga'aia. Attendees called her performance captivating, noted her comedic chemistry with Dwayne Johnson, and pointed to her emotional presence as a reason the film still carries some of the original’s spirit. For a debut feature performance, that is a meaningful early win, especially in a role so closely tied to Auliʻi Cravalho’s beloved original turn. But the criticism surrounding the film is larger than any one actor can fix. Many early viewers described the remake as a “shot-for-shot” or “beat-for-beat” retread of the 2016 animated film, with little creative justification for revisiting material that is only a decade old and follows a 2024 animated sequel. Some also criticized the visuals as flat and questioned Dwayne Johnson’s Maui, suggesting the film’s problems are structural, aesthetic and conceptual. That leaves Laga'aia in a familiar position for remakes under fire: she may be able to make the film watchable, even appealing for some audiences, without changing the central argument against its existence. If full reviews echo the premiere reactions, the likely verdict will be that her debut helps “Moana” more than it saves it.

3 articles · Updated · Business Insider · Jul 13

$43 million in domestic ticket sales left Disney's live-action "Moana" barely ahead of last year's troubled "Snow White," turning one of the studio's safest franchises into a clear opening-weekend miss.
Analysts said the remake gave audiences little reason to leave home because it closely copied the 2016 animated hit instead of offering a fresh take.
Timing also hurt: Disney returned to the property just two years after billion-dollar "Moana 2," limiting nostalgia and leaving families saturated with the brand.
Crowded competition added pressure, with "Toy Story 5," Universal's "Minions & Monsters" and even the World Cup pulling at the same family audience.
The weak debut is fueling broader doubts about Disney's animation-to-live-action formula, which had long been treated as a low-risk box-office engine.