Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson has experienced another professional disappointment after Disney’s live-action Moana opened below industry expectations at the global box office despite debuting in first place. And I couldn’t be happier.
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The Moana live-action remake, which stars Johnson as the demigod Maui alongside newcomer Catherine Laga’aia in the titular role, collected an estimated $95 million worldwide during its opening weekend.
The total included about $43 million in North America and $52 million from international markets. Oh, and the film had a budget of $250 million.
Despite opening at No. 1, the remake started below the 2016 animated original, which earned a stronger domestic opening before eventually grossing more than $643 million worldwide. The new film also arrived less than two years after Moana 2, which exceeded $1 billion at the global box office, creating difficult comparisons for the remake.
For any Disney project, that’s a pretty bad flop. But what’ll sting extra for Disney, is that their ‘bold and creative’ reboot generated less than eight times the amount than two original and smaller movies did combined.
‘Backrooms’ And ‘Obsession’ Soared Past ‘Moana’ At The Box Office With A Combined $800 Million
Where Moana failed, however, two movies made by smaller and younger directors have soared.
Backrooms, the horror flick written and directed by Kane Parsons (who was only 21 years old at the time), achieved a total of $375.7 million at the box office. And Obsession, another horror movie, written and directed by Curry Barker, earned £426.7 million.
These gen-Z directors earned their directorial dues through YouTube. Where Parsons showed off his incredible CGI skills through his own Backrooms-inspired series, Barker became a known name through his sketches.
Disney has fallen into a trap of remakes and sequels. The only recent stand-alone original movie they’ve made that comes to mind is Encanto (which is a brilliant movie, by the way).
The box office figures clearly show that people don’t want to watch the same movies, even if repackaged (and re-wigged). Movie-goers want to see original projects that push boundaries and remind you just how magical (or horrifying) the cinema can be.