Dwayne Johnson just made sure a live-action flop won’t sink Disney’s Moana — here’s why
Moana 3 is officially sailing ahead at Disney, Dwayne Johnson revealed while promoting the upcoming live-action musical in Brazil — a clear sign the franchise will ride its animated momentum even if the remake hits choppy box-office waters.
Here we go again with Disney doubling down on Moana – yes, already. While all eyes are on the live-action Moana that’s just about to hit cinemas, Dwayne Johnson (who’s obviously not shy about a bit of hype) has spilled the beans: the House of Mouse is already planning Moana 3, animated, with the usual suspects writing. That’s not rumour – that’s straight from The Rock himself, mid-publicity blitz in Brazil.
Let’s be honest, the timing of this news is a bit suspect. The live-action musical is still waiting to make its box office entrance, but things aren’t looking brilliant. Initial forecasts for the opening weekend in North America had the film sailing towards an $85 million launch. Well, scratch that. The most recent prediction from Box Office Pro has quietly slipped to $60-70 million. It’s not a disaster, but for a project apparently carrying a budget north of $200 million, it’s not exactly a chart-buster on paper.
Here’s what Johnson had to say about those sequel plans:
“Yes, we have talked about Moana 3, yes. 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.”
It’s not like he just blurted this out either – the reveal is as deliberate as they come. Disney appears to be hedging its bets.
Why Disney Isn't Panicking
The reality is, even if this live-action version unexpectedly belly flops, Disney can shrug it off. The animated side of the Moana franchise is unfazed and, frankly, thriving. Moana 2 came out less than two years after the first and sailed right past the billion-dollar mark in 2024. That’s not something you just ignore.
And then there’s the bit most Hollywood execs care about these days: streaming numbers. The original Moana is still running rings around much of the competition on Disney+. It was the most-streamed film of any kind in 2023 according to Nielsen. In 2025, that crown only slipped slightly: Moana 2 managed second place, just behind the animated action flick KPop Demon Hunters.
- Moana (2016): $687 million worldwide gross
- Moana 2 (2024): Over $1 billion at the global box office
- Moana – No. 1 streaming movie in 2023
- Moana 2 – No. 2 most-streamed film in 2025
All things considered, Disney’s animated Moana films are bulletproof at this point. The live-action version could fade quietly, but the numbers make it pretty clear: more Moana on the animated front is an easy win. Johnson and writers Jared Bush and Dana Ledoux Miller aren’t about to run out of Pacific adventure stories soon.