The Walt Disney Company’s live-action “Moana” sailed to the top of the domestic box office, but its opening weekend was far from a tidal wave.
The film, reportedly produced for $250 million, brought in $43 million in ticket sales across the U.S. and Canada, based on studio estimates released Sunday.
Overseas, it collected another $52 million from 50 markets, giving the movie a $95 million worldwide launch.
Disney made a major wager on “Moana,” one of its strongest modern franchises. The 2016 animated original remains the most-watched movie on Disney+, while its follow-up — reworked from what had been planned as a streaming series — topped $1 billion globally and set a Thanksgiving opening record with $225 million in 2024. “Moana 2” arrived just 19 months ago.
Directed by Thomas Kail, the new “Moana” brings back Dwayne Johnson as the demigod Maui and stars Catherine Lagaʻaia as the seafaring Polynesian heroine. While Lagaʻaia has earned positive notices, critics largely panned the movie, faulting it for closely retracing the animated original almost scene for scene.
How audiences are responding to “Moana”
The film currently holds a 34% score on Rotten Tomatoes. Moviegoers, most of whom were women (66%), were more forgiving: PostTrak found that 63% said they would “definitely” recommend it to friends. Parents reacted even more warmly, with 78% saying they would recommend the film to other parents. It also received an encouraging A- CinemaScore.
Disney’s live-action adaptations of its animated favorites have produced both blockbuster wins and costly letdowns. Titles such as “Lilo & Stitch,” “The Lion King” and “Beauty and the Beast” have crossed the $1 billion mark, while others have struggled — most notably last year’s “Snow White,” which finished with just $205 million worldwide. “Moana” opened in a similar range to “Snow White,” which debuted with $42.2 million.
Paul Dergarabedian, the head of marketplace trends for Rentrak, said “Moana’s” debut could also be a product of PG-rated oversaturation in the marketplace: Universal’s “Minions & Monsters” was in second place with $20.5 million and “Toy Story 5” was close behind in third place with $18.5 million.
“Families love going to the movies, but right now there are three of them,” Dergarabedian said. “That’s a lot of competition.”
PG-rated films outgrossed others in 2024 and 2025, so “Moana’s” performance may not be a case of “family movie fatigue,” he said, but simply shows there can be a ceiling. Families have to make a choice, and after four weekends, “Toy Story 5” is still going strong with a running global total of $879.1 million.
There also are signs that these movies might not sink or swim based on the opening weekend alone. Although “Minions & Monsters” opened below expectations over the Fourth of July holiday, it also had a modest 45% drop this weekend. Its running domestic total is currently sitting at $108.3 million.
Elsewhere at the box office, horror and history
The weekend’s other big new opener was definitely not PG: The R-rated horror “Evil Dead Burn,” a Warner Bros. release, opened in fourth place with $13.7 million. It’s a significant dip from the previous two films in the series, which both opened in the $25 million range.
Angel Studios’ George Washington movie “Young Washington” rounded out the top five films in its second weekend in theaters, with $6.4 million. Olivia Wilde’s chamber dramedy “The Invite” landed in sixth place in its first weekend in wide release, with $5.7 million from 1,610 theaters.
And though it has dropped out of the top 10 domestically, “Michael” has officially crossed $1 billion at the worldwide box office, only the second film this year to do so after “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.” It’s also now the highest grossing musical biopic of all time, a title previously held by “Bohemian Rhapsody.”
The total domestic box office for the year is currently sitting just under $5.2 billion, up about 10.7% from this point last year. While both May and June were very strong — both generating over $1 billion in North America — July, Dergarabedian said, has faced some headwinds with a string of underperformers, including “Supergirl.” Things will likely pick up next week with the arrival of Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” followed by “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” the weekend after.
“They could power a stronger August than July at the box office, which would be very unusual,” Dergarabedian said.
Top 10 movies by domestic box office
With final domestic figures being released Monday, this list factors in the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Rentrak:
1. “Moana,” $43 million.
2. “Minions & Monsters,” $20.5 million.
3. “Toy Story 5,” $18.5 million.
4. “Evil Dead Burn,” $13.7 million.
5. “Young Washington,” $6.4 million.
6. “The Invite,” $5.7 million.
7. “Obsession,” $3.8 million.
8. “Supergirl,” $3.6 million.
9. “Disclosure Day,” $3.2 million.
10. “Backrooms,” $1.5 million.
