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Disney’s ‘Moana’ Live-Action Eyes $130M+ Global Start as Thomas Kail Directs
The Apex Times

THE APEX TIMES

Culture/The Apex Times/Jul 7, 5:38 PM EDT

Disney’s ‘Moana’ Live-Action Eyes $130M+ Global Start as Thomas Kail Directs

A box-office preview from Deadline says the live-action remake of Disney’s 2016 animated hit is targeting a North American opening in the $60M+ range and at least $130M worldwide.

3 min readEditor-approved Apex article

Disney is eyeing a strong theatrical debut for its live-action remake of the 2016 animated feature Moana, with a weekend box-office preview projecting a global opening of $130 million or more. The preview, published July 7 by Deadline, frames the release as another attempt to expand the franchise beyond animation and into a new production and marketing cycle, even as it seeks to bring back audience recognition tied to the original story.

According to the preview, expectations for the theatrical rollout include a domestic opening in the range of $60 million plus, paired with a worldwide opening of $130 million plus. The estimates are presented as a forward-looking weekend forecast rather than a final tally, and they reflect how major releases are priced and tracked in the opening-weekend window.

Deadline also identifies the creative team and casting for the live-action film. The project is directed by Thomas Kail, who is described in the preview as a Disney+ feature director following Broadway’s Hamilton. The preview says Dwayne Johnson is reprising his role as Maui from the animated franchise for the live-action version.

For the title role, the preview says Catherine Laga’aia steps in for Auli’i Carvalho, who voiced Moana in the 2016 animated original. The casting change is presented as part of the transition from animation to live-action and is tied to how Disney is positioning the remake for both familiar franchise fans and broader moviegoers.

The preview situates Moana’s live-action effort in the broader context of Disney’s ongoing strategy to reintroduce well-known animated properties in new formats, aiming to convert brand recognition into opening-weekend ticket sales. The article indicates that audience interest is being tested by the size of the studio’s projected debut rather than by prior-week performance figures.

While opening-weekend projections are typically influenced by theater counts, marketing spend, and comparable release trajectories, the Deadline report focuses on the studio’s targeted revenue range. As of publication, the figures are best read as expectations for the start of the box-office run, not as verified results.

With the live-action Moana set for a major commercial push, the next step for Disney will be to report weekend and multi-day grosses and to compare the early returns against industry forecasts. The performance will also be watched for signs that franchise audiences will carry over across casting changes and a shift from animation to a live-action production approach.

The forecasted numbers, if reached, would place the remake among the higher-grossing big-studio releases for the summer cycle. For now, however, Deadline’s projections remain an early look, and theater-by-theater reporting over the weekend will determine how closely the film tracks toward the $130 million-plus global benchmark described in the preview.

Why It Matters

  • A $130M+ worldwide opening target highlights the commercial stakes for Disney’s strategy of converting established animated IP into live-action releases.
  • Opening-weekend results will be a primary test of whether familiar story and character recognition can offset franchise changes such as recast lead actors.
  • The projected domestic range of $60M+ indicates how Disney expects the film to compete within the current summer theatrical schedule.
  • For media markets and theater partners, early grosses and audience turnout help determine how releases are marketed and scheduled beyond the first weekend.

Sources

Key Facts

  • Deadline reported July 7, 2026 that Disney’s live-action Moana is projected for a global opening of $130M+.
  • The same preview projected a North American opening of $60M+.
  • Deadline said Thomas Kail directs the live-action film and is described as a Disney+ feature director connected to Hamilton.
  • Deadline stated that Dwayne Johnson reprises his animated franchise role as Maui for the live-action version.
  • Deadline said Catherine Laga’aia plays Moana in the live-action film, stepping in for Auli’i Carvalho, who voiced Moana in the 2016 animated original.