Box Office: ‘Moana’ Could Be Headed for Choppy Waters

Critics are currently divided over the newly released live-action 'Moana' remake. While some reviewers characterize the film as a faithful yet unnecessary adaptation, others describe it as an exercise in how not to translate an animated classic to live-action. A portion of the coverage also highlights the film as a functional project, marking the feature debut for its Broadway director.

Coverage from Yahoo, Rotten Tomatoes, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, The Boston Globe, The Austin Chronicle, Gizmodo, and ABC7 Los Angeles emphasizes the mixed reception, noting that the film has earned one of the second-worst Rotten Tomatoes scores for a Disney live-action remake. Outlets also feature commentary from Dwayne Johnson regarding the timing of the release and reactions to his appearance in the film. Future reports will likely track the box office performance of the film in relation to its critical standing.

Coverage does not yet specify long-term commercial expectations for the project or how the current critical consensus will influence audience turnout.