Weekend box office bust: Disney’s Moana flops

Hollywood’s summer of 2026 is looking less blockbuster, more bust. If you thought the rough patch was just a blip after The Mandalorian & Grogu bombed, think again—Disney’s now taken another bruising hit, and it’s all thanks to their new live-action Moana. Honestly, even with Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson back as Maui, crowds just weren’t bothered, leading to a limp $43 million opening weekend. That’s, awkwardly, almost identical to the dud Snow White served up last winter.

Disney Doubled Down… and Got Doubly Burned

You might’ve thought Dwayne Johnson’s muscle-bound global popularity would rescue Moana overseas. Not even close. The worldwide launch only managed $95 million, missing even the gloomiest industry predictions. To put it bluntly, a project with a budget to the tune of $250 million is expected to cruise towards $700 million worldwide—not stall out at the first turn. At this rate, it won’t sniff anything near a profit, so Disney’s accountants are no doubt dusting off the red ink for another nine-figure loss.

Not Just a Disney Problem: Other Big Studios Stumble

• Minions & Monsters (Universal/Illumination): Fell 45% second weekend, which in most cases would be, well, ‘par for the course’—except its opening was already on the soggy side. It’s made $20.5 million this weekend, totalling $108 million domestic. That’s nowhere near even the series' lowest-grossing entry (Despicable Me, which eked out $251 million domestic). Still, Illumination keep costs sensible, so this one should scrape into the black.
• Toy Story 5 (Pixar): Dropped by 39%, still made $18.5 million for third place. The key thing here—it’s done $403 million in the US already, so expect it to finish somewhere between $475–480 million before it gets wheeled out of cinemas.
• Evil Dead Burn: Yet another one struggling out of the gate, with just $13.7 million for its opening (about $10 million behind Evil Dead Rise’s launch, just for context). The audience gave it a B on CinemaScore—decent for a horror flick—but with The Odyssey releasing next week, don’t bet on this one hanging about for long stretches either. Evil Dead Wrath is already announced, so maybe they’ll have better luck next time.

Fast Fades and Mixed Results Down the Chart

Young Washington (Angel Studios) looked like it might follow in the surprise hit footsteps of Sound of Freedom, but those hopes vanished after it nose-dived 67% in its second weekend, pulling in only $6.4 million for a domestic total of $33.1 million. The drop shows audiences lost interest quickly—though, obviously, a sequel is already in the works.

Olivia Wilde’s The Invite saw a nationwide expansion thanks to A24, but the wider release didn’t translate into fireworks—$5.7 million with an average of $3,500 per screen. People expected a bit more, especially given its early limited-run buzz. Maybe it simply ought to have waited for awards season, as its domestic haul is now just $7.3 million—but it’s getting good feedback, so it might stick around a bit.

And then there’s Obsession, the horror indie phenomenon that refuses to die (in box office terms, anyway). Even after showing up on PVOD, it’s still bringing in cash: another $3.8 million this weekend, for a stonking $253 million US total. Not bad for a flick supposedly made on a £750k budget.

Supergirl, Spielberg and the TikTok Generation

DC’s Supergirl is facing kryptonite at the box office, dropping 59% to just $3.56 million domestically, and sitting at $66 million total—one of the weakest outings for any superhero tentpole in recent memory.

As for Steven Spielberg’s Disclosure Day, it’s quietly plugging away, earning $3.2 million for the week and rising to $111 million on the home front.

Rounding out the top ten is A24’s Backrooms, a viral-landscape horror that has now added $1.49 million for a rolling $194 million domestic take. You can bet A24 will keep it in as long as possible to help it crawl past that lucrative $200 million domestic milestone.

'What did you see this weekend? Let us know in the comments!'