Live-Action MOANA is Sinking at the Box Office and It's Almost Matching SNOW WHITE's Disappointing Run

Disney's latest live-action remake has hit some rough waters. After years of turning its animated classics into live-action blockbusters, the studio has finally run into another major stumble, with Moana struggling to find an audience in theaters.

Starring Catherine Laga'aia as Moana and Dwayne Johnson returning as Maui, the film has now earned just $95 million worldwide. According to Deadline, it's currently on track to lose more than $100 million if it finishes its theatrical run at around $250 million.

No matter how you look at it, those numbers put Moana among the weakest performers in Disney's long-running wave of live-action remakes.

Its $43 million domestic opening weekend is nowhere near the launches of previous Disney remake hits. The Lion King opened to $191 million, Beauty and the Beast debuted with $174 million, and Aladdin brought in $91 million during its first weekend in North America.

The only remake sitting in the same neighborhood is Snow White, which also opened to $43 million domestically. Moana is performing a little better internationally, but that's hardly the kind of comparison Disney was hoping to make.

At this point, it's hard to ignore a bigger trend. Moviegoers have become much more selective about what they leave the house to see. Tickets aren't cheap, concessions certainly aren't getting any cheaper, and audiences seem far less interested in showing up simply because a familiar Disney title is playing on the big screen.

That's especially true when the movie is another live-action version of a film people already love. Some fans have wondered whether audiences are simply getting tired of these remakes.

That could be part of the story, but it's probably more complicated than that. Just last year, Disney's live-action Lilo & Stitch remake crossed the $1 billion mark worldwide, proving there's still plenty of appetite for the right project.

Timing may have worked against Moana, though. The release comes not long after Moana 2, a sequel that didn't generate the same level of enthusiasm as the beloved original animated film. It's possible audiences weren't exactly eager to revisit the same story again so soon.

The marketing also didn't seem to spark much excitement. The trailers never quite captured the vibrant energy, heart, and visual magic that made the animated movie such a fan favorite. Instead, many fans felt something was missing.

There were warning signs before release, too. Early reactions to Johnson's Maui wig quickly became the butt of online jokes, along with the nippleless bodysuit he wore, and the first wave of reactions to the movie itself was fairly underwhelming. Word of mouth on the film hasn‘t been good either. There was nothing to help build momentum heading into opening weekend.

Disney clearly isn't slowing down its remake strategy despite these results. A live-action Tangled is still moving forward, a sequel to the live-action Lilo & Stitch has already been greenlit, and while the live-action Hercules has gone quiet for a while, it hasn't officially disappeared.

The bigger question is whether Disney should take a step back and rethink its approach. Not every animated classic needs a live-action version, and audiences have become pretty good at deciding which ones feel worth their time and money.

Familiarity alone isn't enough anymore. Fans want a reason to buy a ticket beyond watching a story they've already seen with real actors.

Disney has enjoyed enormous success with this formula over the years, but it also feels like the studio needs to start reading the room. The excitement that once surrounded these remakes isn't automatic anymore. If a project doesn't look special, fresh, or necessary, audiences are increasingly comfortable waiting for streaming instead of making a trip to the theater.

There's no question Disney will continue making live-action adaptations because the right one can still become a massive hit. But Moana joining Snow White near the bottom of the remake rankings is another reminder that this strategy isn't guaranteed to work every time.

These days, moviegoers are making every ticket count, and Disney may have to work a lot harder to convince them that its next remake deserves one of those precious trips to the theater.