Dwayne Johnson rakes in a blockbuster paycheck as the Moana remake sinks at the box office

Right, Disney's big budget live-action Moana isn’t exactly setting the world alight at the box office, but Dwayne Johnson is still walking away with a suitcase (or ten) full of cash. The numbers are in, and let’s just say The Rock's wallet is thriving, even if audience turnout isn’t.

A Pricey Beach Trip for Disney

The new Moana remake, directed by Thomas Kail, hit cinemas last week after a flurry of doom-and-gloom projections—projections, by the way, that actually turned out to be a bit optimistic. Disney reportedly shelled out $250 million making this thing, which by anyone’s standards is a jaw-dropper, and that’s before you factor in the £120 million they apparently spent just on marketing.

So, with solid money having been absolutely splashed on this, the expectation was a major return. That... did not happen.

Opening Numbers: Not Magic

• Early last month, insiders reckoned the film would bring in between $80–105 million in its first US weekend
• Newer, gloomier forecasts dropped that to a $45–60 million opening
• Actual opening weekend? $43 million domestic, $95 million from international screens

Yes, you read that right, it didn't even clear the low end of the recent predictions. This puts the whole venture on track to rank up there with Disney’s meatiest financial flops, right alongside last year’s Snow White—the Rachel Zegler version, which reportedly cost them $170 million in losses.

The Rock’s Payday

So, how much did Dwayne Johnson rake in for reprising his role as Maui and producing on top? Variety is reporting he bagged nearly $30 million, which—if you look at the box office—means he’s probably the only one seeing a magical payday on this project.

'Johnson pulled in nearly $30 million for starring and producing, according to Variety, making him one of the best-paid people involved, regardless of how the film performs.'

If you want to talk about return on investment, Disney handed over more than a tenth of their production budget to The Rock before ever selling a ticket. Ballsy, if nothing else.

'But Audiences Love It!' – Kind of True

Here’s the slightly surreal bit: while critics haven’t exactly been enchanted (lots of snarky reviews, by all accounts), regular people still seem keen. The film’s managed to land a chunky 90% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. You don’t often see that when a film is being ripped to shreds everywhere else.

For those in the mood for a numbers game, unless a miraculous groundswell of positive word of mouth shows up, Disney are staring down the barrel of a loss somewhere between $100 million and $125 million once all is said and done.

Who Else Is in It?

Besides Johnson’s reliable presence as Maui, the film stars Catherine Laga'aia as Moana herself—the live-action version’s new face.

Disney’s spent big, rolled the dice, and for all the lovely audience scores, it looks like they’ll be eating a fair chunk of humble pie once the books close on this one.