> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.theomnicosm.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # The live-action ‘Moana’ remake implodes, sinks, explodes again, sinks even deeper - URL: https://www.theomnicosm.com/popculturology-box-office-report-moana/ - Published: 2026-07-12T17:09:23.000Z - Updated: 2026-07-17T13:16:16.000Z - Description: Dwayne Johnson’s ill-advised remake debuted with one of the worst box office performances of all Disney’s live-action do-overs. - Author: Bill Kuchman - Tags: Popculturology • The Box Office Report, Popculturology, Live-action Moana remake, Moana, Disney, Minions & Monsters, Toy Story 5, Evil Dead Burn, Young Washington, Supergirl Hello! Welcome to **The** **Box Office Report** for the weekend of July 10-12, 2026\. ## 1\. Live-action Moana remake *Weekend gross: *$43M** *Total domestic gross: *$43M** *Last weekend: *New release** *Percent drop: *NA** [I told you in 2023](https://www.theomnicosm.com/disney-announced-a-live-action-moana/). [I told you in 2024](https://www.theomnicosm.com/its-time-to-scrap-the-live-action-moana-remake/). [And I told you in 2026](https://www.theomnicosm.com/popculturology-moana-trailer/). The live-action *Moana* remake was always a bad idea. And now the film, loaded down with a reported $250 million budget, has hit a box office reef and sunk with a dismal $43 million opening weekend. To put in context how dreadful the live-action *Moana* remake’s debut is, it barely squeaked by *Snow White*’s $42.2 million opening weekend. And that could still change when actual numbers come in on Monday. It’s worse than the $46 million that **Tim Burton**’s *Dumbo* remake grossed its first weekend. The live-action *Moana* remake is in a league of its own when it comes to how a remake of a modern Disney film — anything from the first Disney Renaissance that started in the late 1980s to today — performed against its predecessor. This is the first time a remake of one of the modern animated films had an opening weekend that was less than the opening weekend of the original film. Even taking inflation into account, it’s not even close. The original *Moana* opened with a three-day gross of $56.6 million and a five-day gross of $82.1 million. The live-action remake’s $43 million couldn’t even touch that box office haul. And it’s way, way behind the remakes of *The Lion King* ($191.8 million), *Beauty and the Beast* ($174.8 million), *Lilo & Stitch* ($146 million), *The Little Mermaid* ($95.6 million) and *Aladdin* ($91.5 million). Maybe there was a time in the future when a remake of *Moana* would’ve made sense. (Definitely not while there’s an open-ended animated series of *Moana* movies in existence.) A lot is going to be written about the failure of the live-action *Moana* remake — and I imagine a bunch of fingers are going to point back to **Dwayne Johnson**. “To be honest with you, I never bought into this idea \[of\], ‘You have to wait 20 years. You have to wait 30 years. It’s too soon,’” [Johnson recently told *The Hollywood Reporter*](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/moana-box-office-test-disney-live-action-dwayne-johnson-1236643385/?ref=theomnicosm.com). [Despite the studio sabotaging the franchise](https://www.theomnicosm.com/popculturology-newsletter-moana-disney-sabotage/), there’s a way for Disney to turn the *Moana* ship around and salvage its future. Bring back the original film’s creative team, directors **John Musker** and **Ron Clements** and screenwriter **Jared Bush**; task **Lin-Manuel Miranda** and **Opetaia Foaʻi** with writing a wave of timeless new songs; and tell Johnson that, while he’s an integral part of *Moana 3*’s cast, his production company has nothing to do with it. *Moana 2* grossed $1.059 billion just two years ago. Imagine how far the franchise could go now that it can finally shed the weight of the live-action remake. ![Popculturology](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f4/8b/f48be8ca-23c6-4d81-b0cf-da2fb0785911/content/images/2026/02/popculturology-wordmark.png) Welcome to Popculturology! This publication is a free newsletter, but it’s fueled by readers like you. Support independent news, reviews and more for **just $5 a month**. [Upgrade to Paid](https://www.theomnicosm.com/about/#/portal/account/plans) Includes full access to **Snackology** and **The Cold Open**. ## 2\. Minions & Monsters *Weekend gross: *$20.5M** *Total domestic gross: *$108.3M** *Last weekend: *1st** *Percent drop: *45** While the live-action *Moana* remake barely convinced families to pay good money to see it, *Minions & Monsters* saw a respectable 45 percent drop from its first weekend, adding $20.5 million to take its domestic total past the $100 million mark. ALSO FROM THE OMNICOSM Love what you’re reading? You might also enjoy **Snackology**, a deep-dive into the world of snacks, fast food and limited-edition treats. [Read the latest from Snackology →](https://www.theomnicosm.com/tag/snackology/) Already a subscriber? [Update your settings](https://www.theomnicosm.com/#/portal/account/plans) to add **Snackology** to your inbox. ## 3\. Toy Story 5 *Weekend gross: *$18.5M** *Total domestic gross: *$403.8M** *Last weekend: *2nd** *Percent drop: *39** *Toy Story 5* wasn’t far behind *Minions & Monsters*. Its strong $18.5 million fourth weekend brought the latest Pixar film into the $400 million range, becoming the studio’s sixth film to notch that accomplishment. As *Toy Story 5* sets its sights on passing *Toy Story 3* ($415 million) and *Toy Story 4* ($434 million), I don’t think the animated film will have to worry about new competition from *The Odyssey* next weekend. ## 4\. Evil Dead Burn *Weekend gross: *$13.7M** *Total domestic gross: *$13.7M** *Last weekend: *New release** *Percent drop: *NA** Had *Evil Dead Burn* matched the $25.5 million opening weekend of its predecessor, *Evil Dead Rise*, the franchise’s latest film would’ve found itself pretty safely at No. 2\. Instead, *Evil Dead Burn* could only scare up an opening weekend that was a touch more than half of what *Evil Dead Rise* debuted with in 2023. Get daily pop culture updates and news from **Bill Kuchman** on social media. [ ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f4/8b/f48be8ca-23c6-4d81-b0cf-da2fb0785911/content/images/2026/02/bluesky-green.svg) Bluesky ](https://bsky.app/profile/billkuchman.bsky.social?ref=theomnicosm.com) [ ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f4/8b/f48be8ca-23c6-4d81-b0cf-da2fb0785911/content/images/2026/02/instagram-green.svg) Instagram ](https://www.instagram.com/theomnicosm/?ref=theomnicosm.com) ## 5\. Young Washington *Weekend gross: *$6.4M** *Total domestic gross: *$33.1M** *Last weekend: *3rd** *Percent drop: *NA** [*Young Washington*, *Young Washington*, six-foot-eight](https://bsky.app/profile/labuzamovies.com/post/3mqcd6dlxdk2p?ref=theomnicosm.com), plays shady box office games for fun? [Peter Labuza (@labuzamovies.com)Gotta start to question the box office figures here. (There was no student ID into the enter, the promo code was automatically applied).![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f4/8b/f48be8ca-23c6-4d81-b0cf-da2fb0785911/content/images/icon/favicon-32x32-e43c7185-6b0b-4fce-bf92-897635a92371.png)Bluesky SocialPeter Labuza![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f4/8b/f48be8ca-23c6-4d81-b0cf-da2fb0785911/content/images/thumbnail/bafkreic3u72yvdlhru23p4lhtldho2ou4724elbfsr5fnz3rawzkufkxi4-5f4e5a94-1f2b-42bd-a2ff-0b4c67627268)](https://bsky.app/profile/labuzamovies.com/post/3mqcd6dlxdk2p?ref=theomnicosm.com) Angel Studios? Doing shady stuff with its box office numbers. [That’s never happened ...](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/sound-of-freedom-angel-studios-pay-it-forward-1235550898/?ref=theomnicosm.com) ## Beyond the Top Five - ***Supergirl*:** With an estimated $3.6 million third weekend taking *Supergirl* to $66 million domestic, it looks like the second film in the DCU won’t have the power to fly past $100 million. *Box office numbers via The Numbers and Box Office Mojo based on Sunday estimates.* ![Popculturology](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f4/8b/f48be8ca-23c6-4d81-b0cf-da2fb0785911/content/images/2026/02/popculturology-wordmark.png) Popculturology is a publication of **The Omnicosm**. Issue No. 469 --- **Popculturology** is written and produced by **Bill Kuchman**. Copyediting by **Tim Kuchman**. Love what **Popculturology** is doing? You can help keep the newsletter going by [becoming a paid supporter](https://www.theomnicosm.com/about/#/portal/account/plans). 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