Disney’s Live-Action ‘Moana’ Sinks To One Of The Worst Rotten Tomatoes Scores In Remake History

Disney has spent the last decade turning its animated classics into live-action cash cows, and for the most part audiences have gone along for the ride. From ‘The Jungle Book’ to ‘Lilo and Stitch,’ the formula has usually worked well enough to justify the next installment.

‘Moana’ seemed like a safe bet to continue that trend. The 2016 original made close to $700 million worldwide, and its sequel crossed the billion dollar mark in 2024, making the franchise one of the studio’s most bankable properties heading into this new adaptation.

That confidence has now collided with reality. According to a post from the X account Film Updates, the live-action ‘Moana’ debuted with a 32 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes. Multiple outlets have since confirmed the number sits in that same range, with reports citing scores between 32 and 33 percent as more reviews rolled in throughout the day.

That places the remake among the lowest rated entries in Disney’s entire live-action catalog. The film’s Rotten Tomatoes score has been described as ranking near the very bottom of Disney’s live-action remakes, sitting just above 2000’s ‘The 102 Dalmatians’ and above only ‘Alice Through the Looking Glass’ and the 2022 ‘Pinocchio’ remake. The debut score is even lower than the controversial ‘Snow White’ remake, which opened at 48 percent before settling around 39 percent.

Reviews have not been uniformly negative. One reviewer for CBR praised the film, arguing that even though it isn’t drastically different from the source material, that doesn’t take away from what ‘Moana’ still delivers. Several critics have singled out newcomer Catherine Lagaʻaia’s performance as Moana as a genuine highlight, even as they questioned whether Dwayne Johnson’s live-action Maui carries the same energy he brought to the animated voice role.

The box office outlook is shaky too. The film reportedly carries a $250 million budget, with some projections pointing to an opening weekend as low as $40 million, drawing comparisons to the disastrous debut of ‘Snow White,’ which had a similar budget and opened to $42 million domestically. Other estimates have been slightly more optimistic, but even the higher projections fall well short of blockbuster territory for a film this expensive.

The timing adds another layer of scrutiny. ‘Moana 2′ only hit theaters in November 2024, making this live-action version arrive less than two years after the animated sequel, a turnaround some have called premature for a franchise still fresh in audiences’ minds. Disney has already confirmed that ‘Moana 3’ is in development for the animated side, with Johnson previously indicating the studio wanted the live-action film to arrive first.

Whether ‘Moana’ can recover any goodwill once it reaches general audiences remains to be seen, but the early numbers suggest Disney has another uphill battle on its hands. With the film sailing into theaters this weekend, do you think ‘Moana’ deserves this rocky reception, or is the live-action version getting judged too harshly against a beloved original?