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Apparently the call wasn’t out thereat all for “Moana,” which brought in just $52 million in its international box office debut.
Disney’s latest live-action remake struggled to make waves with $43 million domestically
and $95 million worldwide, a catastrophic start given the film cost $250 million to produce. Heading into the weekend, Disney was projecting a $75 million launch overseas and $130 million to $140 million globally.
Top territories were Australia with $5.3 million, France with $5.2 million and Korea with $3.8 million. Meanwhile “Moana” bombed in China with $1.2 million.
“Moana” stands as one of the worst starts among Disney’s live-action remakes, joining the ranks of 2025’s “Snow White” which ignited to $44 million overseas and $87 million globally. Analysts at the time argued that “Snow White” failed in part because the property, based on a film from 1937, was too old and doesn’t have the same cultural cache with today’s audiences. “Moana,” meanwhile, might be too recent. The original animated adventure was released in 2016, while the billion-dollar sequel swam to theaters less than two years ago, around Thanksgiving 2024. Nostalgia has been important with Disney’s live-action remakes, and adaptations from the ’90s and early 2000’s — like last year’s “Lilo & Stitch,” “The Lion King,” “Aladdin” and “Beauty and the Beast,” all of which crossed $1 billion — seem to fair the best. A remake of 2010’s “Tangled” is in the works for 2028.
Thomas Kail (“Hamilton”) directed “Moana,” which follows the same story as the original: The strong-willed daughter of a village chief is chosen by the ocean to restore prosperity to her island. Newcomer Catherine Laga’aia stars as Moana while Dwayne Johnson reprises his role from the animated movies as the demigod Maui, who helps the Polynesian heroine on her journey. Though critics piled on the film, audiences were far kinder, which could help in terms of word of mouth. However, “Moana” fierce competition from two other family-friendly sequels, “Toy Story 5” and “Minions & Monsters.”
Disney and Pixar’s “Toy Story 5” remained a draw in its fourth weekend with $45 million from 50 markets. The kid-friendly film has generated $879.1 million globally, including $475.3 million overseas and $403.8 million domestically. It’s on track to be the biggest of the 31-year-old property, a distinction that currently belongs to 2019’s “Toy Story 4” ($1.07 billion).
“Minions and Monsters” added $39 million from 79 territories in its second outing, a 44% drop from its international debut. So far the “Despicable Me” spinoff has generated $171 million overseas and $280 million globally. Although the newest “Minions” may wind up as the lowest-grossing entry in Universal’s hit franchise, this installment was produced for $85 million and will turn a profit for the studio.
Another new release, “Evil Dead Burn,” earned just $13.3 million in its launch at the overseas box office. Along with a tepid $13.7 million domestically, the R-rated horror film has collected $27 million worldwide. “Evil Dead Burn” had the biggest start in India with $1.5 million, followed by the United Kingdom with $1.2 million and Mexico with $1.1 million. Sony is releasing the movie at the international box office while Warner Bros. is handling the domestic distribution.
Initial ticket sales were below the franchise’s prior entry, 2023’s “Evil Dead Rise,” though “Evil Dead Burn” carries a modest $20 million production budget and won’t require too much coinage to get out of the red. This is the sixth “Evil Dead” installment, which began with Sam Raimi’s low-budget 1981 thriller “The Evil Dead.” A seventh chapter, “Evil Dead Wrath,” is slated for 2028.
Also of note, “Michael” surpassed $1 billion at the global box office, becoming the second movie of 2026 and the first biopic ever to cross the coveted milestone. Universal, which released “Michael” internationally, produced this year’s other billion-dollar hit, “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.”
“From its opening weekend to this historic milestone, Michael resonated with moviegoers worldwide and transcended the screen to become a cultural phenomenon,” said Veronika Kwan Vandenberg, president of Universal Pictures International. “It has been a distinct privilege to bring this groundbreaking film to international audiences.”
