Disney is about to find out whether audiences still want live-action remakes — and the early signs aren't encouraging.
The studio's Moana reimagining lands in theaters July 10, arriving in the shadow of last year's Snow White (2025), a critically and commercially bruising release starring Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot under director Marc Webb. That film's struggles led some to speculate Disney might scale back its remake ambitions. It hasn't. A live-action Tangled is already moving forward, directed by The Greatest Showman‘s Michael Gracey and led by Teagan Croft, Milo Manheim, Kathryn Hahn, and Diego Luna.
Moana, though, is the immediate test case — and it's arriving with genuine creative firepower. Dwayne Johnson reprises his role as Maui roughly a decade after first voicing the demigod, and is producing the film as well, describing it as a project close to his heart given its connection to Polynesian heritage. First-time feature director Thomas Kail, the Tony-winning force behind Hamilton, is at the helm. Writers Jared Bush and Dana Ledoux Miller penned the screenplay, with Miller promising “a real human vulnerability that will make it feel fresh” without straying far from the source material. Lin-Manuel Miranda and Mark Mancina return to handle the score.
The film introduces Catherine Laga'aia in her feature debut as Moana, while Auli'i Cravalho — the original voice of the character — chose not to return in front of the camera, instead becoming an executive producer and emphasizing the importance of casting the role authentically. John Tui, Frankie Adams, and Rena Owen round out a supporting cast that reflects Disney's continued commitment to Pacific Island representation on and off screen. Laga'aia has since become one of the more visible faces of Disney's 2026 promotional slate, appearing on marketing materials alongside stars from Zootopia, Star Wars, Marvel, and Pixar.
None of that pedigree has stopped a wave of online doubt from building in the days before release. A widely shared post from Global Box Office on X painted a grim picture:
“MOANA live-action remake, starring Dwayne Johnson, has pre-sales bombing harder than expected. The projection for its domestic opening weekend is now down to $45M-$60M. With a budget of ~$200M, it is on track to become one of Disney's biggest bombs.”
MOANA live-action remake, starring Dwayne Johnson, has pre-sales bombing harder than expected.
The projection for its domestic opening weekend is now down to $45M-$60M.
With a budget of ~$200M, it is on track to become one of Disney’s biggest bombs. pic.twitter.com/spWLuN3Ch8
— Global Box Office (@GlobalBoxOffice) July 6, 2026
There are dissenting voices. One fan pushed back on the doom-and-gloom narrative, noting the animated film remains a “Disney+ goldmine” and predicting a domestic opening as high as $84 million — enough, they argued, to beat Minions & Monsters (2026) at the box office.
But the loudest voices online have skewed critical. Some have dismissed the project outright, with one person writing that “no one asked for or wanted this movie.” Others have zeroed in on the film's aesthetics, arguing Johnson's live-action Maui bears too close a resemblance to his animated form to justify a separate theatrical release.
The film has become something of a magnet for accumulated frustration with Disney's remake strategy, much of it carried over from Snow White. “Let this finally be the end of the live action remake,” one commenter posted, while another suggested Disney would be better off pouring resources into “updated animation.”
Not all the reaction has been hostile toward the film itself — some has been sympathetic toward its star. One user wrote they “feel bad for the girl playing Moana,” expressing hope that a disappointing opening wouldn't overshadow Laga'aia's career before it gets going.
The financial stakes are real. Moana 2 (2024) opened across its first five days to $389 million worldwide and ultimately crossed $1.059 billion globally — a benchmark that makes any stumble by the live-action version look especially stark by comparison.
Still, pre-release chatter is an imperfect predictor. Disney has put together a legitimately strong creative team, and box office results have a habit of defying online sentiment. What's less avoidable is the framing: after Snow White‘s rough run, this weekend's numbers will likely be read as a larger referendum on whether Disney's live-action remake era has staying power — not just a report on one movie's performance.
Moana opens in theaters nationwide on July 10, 2026.
What are your thoughts on the latest Disney live-action remake? Let us know in the comments down below!
