Updated

Updated · Rotten Tomatoes · Jul 13

Live-Action Moana Wins Verified Hot Rating 10 Years After Original as Audiences Praise Fidelity

Updated

Updated · Rotten Tomatoes · Jul 13

Live-Action Moana Wins Verified Hot Rating 10 Years After Original as Audiences Praise Fidelity

Q: Moana is a hit with fans, so why is its $250M remake struggling at the box office?

*Moana* is pleasing audiences but underperforming financially because its strong fan response has not translated into the kind of opening a $250 million remake needs. The clearest problem is scale. The film opened with about $43 million domestically and roughly $95 million worldwide, soft numbers for a production reportedly costing $250 million before marketing. For a remake at that price, being No. 1 is not enough; it needs a much bigger launch or unusually strong staying power. Timing has hurt it. Disney remade *Moana* only 10 years after the original, and just two years after *Moana 2*, which reportedly topped $1 billion globally. That has made the new film feel less like an event and more like franchise repetition. Many viewers appear to like it once they see it, but fewer felt urgency to buy a ticket opening weekend. Critical reception also appears to have limited momentum. While audiences pushed it to “Verified Hot” status and gave it strong scores, critics were far less enthusiastic, calling it “too soon” and “too familiar.” That split can depress casual turnout, especially among adults deciding whether a family trip to theaters is worth it. The film’s faithfulness is a double-edged sword. Fans praise the cultural care, performances and visuals, but an almost shot-for-shot remake offers limited novelty when the 2016 animated version remains widely available on Disney+. In that sense, *Moana* may be liked as a movie but questioned as a theatrical necessity.

3 articles · Updated · Rotten Tomatoes · Jul 13

Disney’s live-action "Moana" earned a Verified Hot audience rating after opening weekend, with viewers praising it for closely following the 2016 animated film.
Audience reactions repeatedly highlighted the remake’s faithfulness, family appeal and stronger cultural detail, while several singled out newcomer Catherine Laga’aia’s performance as Moana.
Dwayne Johnson returned as Maui in the remake, which arrives just 10 years after the original and only two years after "Moana 2"—a much shorter gap than the 27-year average for Disney live-action remakes.
That quick turnaround had fueled critics’ complaints that the film was too soon and too familiar, but early audience scores suggest nostalgia and fidelity are resonating more strongly with moviegoers.