Disney's new live-action remake of Moana topped the domestic box office in its opening weekend but delivered a disappointing performance given its scale and pedigree. The film, which reportedly cost $250 million to produce, took just $43 million across the US and Canada and $52 million internationally for a $95 million global debut, an underwhelming start for one of the studio's most valuable franchises. The result matters because Disney had bet heavily on Moana, whose 2016 animated original is the most-watched film on Disney+ and whose 2024 sequel earned over $1 billion and set a Thanksgiving opening record with $225 million.

Directed by Thomas Kail, the remake brings back Dwayne Johnson as Maui and introduces Catherine Laga'aia as the title character, who won praise even as critics panned the film as a near shot-for-shot copy of the original, leaving it at 34% on Rotten Tomatoes. Audiences were warmer, with an A- CinemaScore and 63% of PostTrak respondents saying they would "definitely" recommend it, rising to 78% among parents. Analyst Paul Dergarabedian attributed the soft opening partly to a crowded family market, with Universal's Minions & Monsters ($20.5 million) and Toy Story 5 ($18.5 million) also in the top three, while the R-rated horror Evil Dead Burn opened to $13.7 million and Young Washington rounded out the top five with $6.4 million.