Dwayne Johnson’s Moana Opens Soft as Critics Target His Maui

Dwayne Johnson’s live-action “Moana” opened to just $40 million to $45 million domestically this weekend, according to Deadline’s Friday estimates, a fraction of the $250 million Disney spent making it. Reviews have been rough, and critics reserve their harshest words for Johnson’s return as the demigod Maui, even as newcomer Catherine Laga’aia draws praise as Moana herself.

Johnson, 54, is also still absorbing a different setback. Last year’s awards-season drama “The Smashing Machine” handed him one of the weakest openings of his career, and Disney is barreling ahead with a third animated “Moana” regardless of how this weekend goes.

Moana’s Opening Weekend Falls Millions Short

The signs were there for weeks. Tracking three weeks out had the film eyeing an $85 million domestic start, per Deadline. That number slid to $60 million to $65 million closer to release, then cratered again after Thursday previews brought in just $4.5 million.

Advance ticket sales heading into the weekend sat at only $4 million. Deadline’s Friday afternoon estimate put the three-day domestic total between $40 million and $45 million. Internationally, the film is projected to add $70 million to $75 million, putting a worldwide opening somewhere around $110 million to $120 million, short of the roughly $130 million some trackers floated before reviews landed.

• $4.5 million – Thursday preview haul, well below what Disney had hoped for entering the weekend.
• $40 million to $45 million – Deadline’s Friday estimate for the three-day domestic opening.
• $250 million – the film’s confirmed production budget, before marketing costs.
• 35% – the movie’s Rotten Tomatoes score as reviews rolled in this week, with a 42 on Metacritic.

For context, the original 2016 “Moana” opened to $56 million domestically before finishing with $680 million worldwide. Its 2024 sequel did far better, launching with $139.7 million over its three-day frame on the way past $1 billion globally.

Why Is Disney’s Live-Action Moana Struggling at the Box Office?

Disney’s live-action “Moana” is underperforming because it arrived barely 20 months after the billion-dollar “Moana 2,” drew largely negative reviews, and landed in a crowded family market against “Toy Story 5” and “Minions & Monsters.” Analysts describe it as a case of oversaturating a proven brand rather than a broader industry slump.

Deadline framed the underlying question bluntly, asking whether this is “too much Moana too soon.” The remake was greenlit before former Disney chief Bob Iger flipped a planned streaming series into the theatrical “Moana 2,” meaning two tellings of the same story hit screens inside two years.

Analyst Daniel Garris of BoxOfficeReport.com pointed to “trailers that have come across as underwhelming,” which compounded the effect once largely negative reviews arrived. The overall box office isn’t the problem. Deadline noted the domestic market is on pace to cross $5 billion for the year, roughly 13% ahead of 2025.

Johnson pushed back on the too-soon framing at this week’s Los Angeles premiere, telling The Hollywood Reporter he never subscribed to the idea that remakes need decades of distance from their animated originals before they can work.

Only “Snow White” and “Dumbo” opened softer among Disney’s modern remakes, and both finished as write-offs against their budgets. “Moana” now sits in that company.

Critics Aim Their Sharpest Reviews at Maui

The reviews split in a specific way. Laga’aia, making her film debut, has drawn some of the best notices given to any live-action Disney lead in years. Johnson has not.

All inventiveness has gone out to sea.

Jake Coyle, film critic for the Associated Press, wrote that in his review of the remake this week.

Some of the hostility traces back to the marketing itself. Disney’s first teaser had already left fans divided over Johnson’s look as Maui, tattoos, wig and muscle suit included, months before critics weighed in.

Johnson leaned into the mockery of his own wig rather than fight it. Asked about the viral memes, he joked, “I’m a pretty well-known bald actor.”

Collider critic Taylor Gates captured the split in her review, praising the film’s musical sequences and its nod to Polynesian culture while concluding, “Everything it does well, the 2016 version already did better.”

A Two-Year Skid From Black Adam to Smashing Machine

“Moana” isn’t an isolated stumble. It’s the latest entry in a run of underwhelming results stretching back four years.

• Black Adam (2022) – the DC Comics debut meant to launch a shared-universe run instead ended those plans after a tepid box office haul.
• Red One and Red Notice – the Amazon and Netflix originals landed as forgettable entries rather than career-defining hits.
• The Smashing Machine (2025) – the Benny Safdie drama opened to $5.9 million, the lowest wide opening of Johnson’s career.
• Moana (2026) – the live-action remake now projects to a $40 million to $45 million domestic opening against its $250 million budget.

The Smashing Machine’s opening already showed the ceiling had cracked. Collider’s postmortem on that flop warned the setback could push Johnson back toward the reliable blockbusters he had tried to escape.

Johnson himself took a different tone after that film’s numbers came in, writing on Instagram that he couldn’t control box office results but could control his performance and his commitment to the role.

Disney Presses Ahead With Moana 3 Anyway

None of this appears to have shaken Disney’s confidence in the underlying property. Just a week before the live-action version opened, Johnson confirmed a third animated Moana installment was already moving forward.

World of Reel called the timing “a mind-boggling example of oversaturating a brand,” noting Disney greenlit the threequel the same week ticket buyers started souring on the live-action take.

Disney has touted more than 1.5 billion hours of “Moana” streamed on Disney+, along with more than 22 million toys sold and 26 billion music streams tied to the franchise, a case the studio has made for the brand independent of any single film’s opening weekend.

Johnson’s Next Bet Is Another Serious Drama

Johnson isn’t abandoning the dramatic pivot despite the Smashing Machine numbers. CBR reported this week that he has lined up another dramatic role as he keeps chasing an Academy Award nomination.

He’s also set to return to franchise ground with Jumanji 4. That balancing act, a blockbuster paycheck alongside awards ambition, mirrors a path Johnson has floated before: fewer obligations to any single tentpole, more of the range he showed in Smashing Machine, even if audiences didn’t turn out for it.

The other adjustment has been public rather than professional. Johnson has largely avoided political commentary in recent months, a shift that hasn’t stopped former “Star Trek” and “Big Bang Theory” figures George Takei and Wil Wheaton from pressing him to take a side.

Disney will confirm the final number Monday, when this weekend’s box office closes the books on Johnson’s $250 million bet.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much did Moana’s live-action opening weekend make?

Deadline’s Friday estimates had the film opening between $40 million and $45 million domestically from roughly 3,875 theaters, after $4.5 million in Thursday previews, with international expected to add another $70 million to $75 million.

What is Dwayne Johnson’s recent box office track record?

Johnson’s 2025 drama The Smashing Machine opened to $5.9 million, the lowest wide opening of his career, following 2022’s underwhelming Black Adam and the streaming titles Red One and Red Notice.

Is Moana 3 still moving forward?

Yes. Johnson confirmed the animated Moana 3 was already in development just days before the live-action remake opened, with Disney continuing to invest in the franchise regardless of the remake’s reception.

What movie is Dwayne Johnson doing next?

Johnson is set to appear in Jumanji 4, and CBR reported he has lined up another dramatic role as he continues pursuing an Academy Award nomination.

What do critics say about the live-action Moana?

The film holds a Rotten Tomatoes score in the mid-30s and a 42 on Metacritic, with reviewers largely praising newcomer Catherine Laga’aia while criticizing the shot-for-shot approach and Johnson’s performance as Maui.