Overview
- The live-action Moana opened in theaters on Friday after a Hollywood Bowl premiere and has landed with broadly negative reviews, holding roughly a 32–35% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes.
- Thursday previews brought about $4.5 million, and industry trackers revised weekend projections down into a roughly $40–65 million range, a start that analysts say is weak against the film's high reported costs.
- The film’s reported production and pre-marketing budget is near $250 million, a level that pushes its global breakeven point far higher and increases scrutiny of a reduced opening forecast.
- Director Thomas Kail and cast defended creative choices on the release press circuit, with Kail saying the remake is not a scene-for-scene copy and addressing backlash over elements such as Maui’s hair.
- The production generated measurable local benefits in Hawaiʻi—an estimated $39 million economic impact and hundreds of local hires—and Disney and Dwayne Johnson have confirmed Moana 3 is in development despite the rocky start.