Why Dwayne Johnson’s Moana 3 Reveal Means a Live-Action Flop Won’t Sink Disney’s Franchise

Ahead of Moana’s live-action debut, Dwayne Johnson revealed Moana 3 is in the works at Disney. Even with a disappointing box office haul for Moana, the franchise won’t sink thanks to the strength of its animated movies.

While promoting the live-action musical movie in Brazil, Johnson disclosed Disney’s plans for Moana 3.

“Yes, we have talked about Moana 3, yes,” Johnson said. “But first, live-action Moana, we’ll let that come out first. We have [the] amazing Jared Bush and Dana Ledoux Miller, who have been our writers . . . they will pen Moana 3.”

Johnson did not reveal news of Moana 3 by accident. The tease comes ahead of the live-action Moana’s theatrical debut. Judging by the tracking, Disney might be in an uphill battle toward profitability at the box office.

In mid-June, Moana was tracking toward an opening weekend of $85 million in North America. That number has come down significantly in the weeks since. Box Office Pro‘s new opening weekend projection is between $60 and $70 million. That’s less than ideal for a movie that carries a rumored budget north of $200 million.

Things could change for Moana, but it’s never a good sign when tracking decreases in the days leading up to a movie’s release.

Why Disney’s animated Moana movies remain the franchise’s biggest strength despite the live-action remake

Even if Moana flops, Disney still has the animated franchise to lean on. The live-action Moana always felt like an ambitious project that Disney didn’t necessarily need, especially after Moana 2 grossed over $1 billion in 2024. The less-than-two-year turnaround time between Moana 2 and the live-action Moana is perhaps too quick.

The potential failure of the live-action Moana is only a speed bump for this franchise, though. Moana did great business in 2016, with a worldwide gross of $687 million. However, the animated musical movie has become a streaming behemoth on Disney+. Moana was the No. 1 streaming movie in 2023, according to Nielsen. In 2025, Moana 2 was the second most-streamed film of the year, behind KPop Demon Hunters.

The proof is in the pudding. Animated Moana movies become hits, so I expect nothing less from Moana 3, regardless of what happens to the live-action movie.

Source: Comingsoon.net