Photo Credits:
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Dwayne Johnson sees one silver lining in the live-action Moana box office flop. Speaking to People, Dwayne Johnson revealed that while Moana failed and couldn’t resonate with everyone, what actually mattered was that “the culture really stood up.”
Moana’s world is inspired by the Polynesian culture, showcased beautifully and authentically in the live-action version. And that’s the main reason “why the movie was made,” according to Johnson who has Samoan ties thanks to his mother Ata. “Because of me and our kids who can now look at the big screen and go, ‘That’s us for the first time on a big screen. That’s us up there. How cool is that?’”
Directed by Thomas Kail, the Disney film also stars Catherine Laga’aia in the titular role.
What did critics say about Dwayne Johnson’s live-action Moana movie?
Compared to the animated Moana movies, which also featured Dwayne Johnson in the voice role for Maui, the live-action version failed to impress most of the critics. It became clear when the initial Rotten Tomatoes score was revealed ahead of its theatrical debut on July 10, 2026.
Currently, the live-action Moana movie holds a very poor Tomatometer score of just 31% on Rotten Tomatoes. Speaking of negative points highlighted by critics, some of them believed it was just a cash grab rather than an honest attempt to offer anything new. “You should rather watch the actual real, amazing animated movie, than this soulless cash grab,” wrote Jorge Rivera Rubio of El Barrio de la Nueva 94FM.
Michael Medved of The Michael Medved Show called it “stale and dull despite touching moments and a talented cast.” Alan Sculley of Metro Times wrote, “It’s so beholden to the 2016 animated musical that its creative bankruptcy is shocking.”
While Moana’s Popcornmeter score is impressive at 88%, it wasn’t reflected in the box office figures for the movie. Made on a massive reported budget of around $250 million, Moana has only made $262 million worldwide so far.
Originally reported by Mintu Kumar Tomar on ComingSoon.net.
