Disney President Reacts to Live-Action Moana Flop, Says It Was an 'Excellent Film' Hit by 'Unusual Circumstances'

Disney president Dana Walden has attributed the poor box office performance of the live-action Moana film to unusual circumstances, while defending it as an excellent movie. At the Bloomberg Screentime event, Walden explained that the film's unfortunate performance was due to the highly competitive nature of the movie industry, where a film needs to be perfectly timed to succeed.

She stated that their live-action Moana was excellent but was hurt by the proximity to the second animated version of Moana, which premiered about 18 months earlier. The unusual circumstances mentioned by Walden are related to Disney's last-minute decision to change Moana 2's format from a Disney+ series to a theatrical movie. This resulted in the project being placed awkwardly in Disney's film schedule, just a year and a half before the live-action film's release.

Walden concluded that there might not have been enough time to build up enough demand for another film. Although the timing was indeed awkward, it's worth noting that this issue is entirely of Disney's own making. Critics, however, have given the live-action Moana movie a low rating, with a 33% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and an average rating of 4.8/10.

The film received criticism for its CGI backgrounds and Dwayne Johnson's wig. Despite these issues, the Moana franchise will continue with a third animated film, following the success of Moana 2. There is no indication of a live-action sequel being made.