Disney's live-action adaptation of Moana opened with $18 million on Friday across nearly 3,900 domestic theatres, tracking toward an estimated $45 million opening weekend. Whilst the film topped the North American box office, the result falls short of the original 2016 animated version, which earned $56 million in its debut weekend—a particularly notable shortfall given Disney's substantial $250 million production budget, more than $75 million higher than the original film's cost.

The performance reflects Disney's broader challenges with live-action remakes in recent years. Whilst the studio achieved blockbuster success with earlier adaptations such as The Jungle Book, Beauty and the Beast, and The Lion King, more recent entries including The Little Mermaid and Snow White significantly underperformed their budgets. Industry observers attribute the declining returns to audience fatigue with remakes and recycled intellectual property, a challenge that continues to affect Disney's live-action strategy regardless of source material strength.