Walt Disney Studios found a new revenue stream 16 years ago to grow its movie empire. Acquisitions of Lucasfilm, Marvel Studios, and 20th Century Fox have brought the studio several new franchises that keep delivering at the box office. And while Disney is still capable of telling beloved original stories that become huge hits, it has made remaking classics a focal point.
The studio dipped its toes into the live-action remake game for the first time in 1994, but it wasn’t until the $1 billion success of Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland that Disney saw the true potential of this idea. This became a turning point for the studio, as it began developing live-action remakes of classic Disney animated movies, with Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast among the first wave.
There have been lots of highs (The Lion King‘s remake grossing $1.6 billion) but also some significant lows (like Snow White bombing at the box office). That has not discouraged Disney from making more live-action remakes, with Lilo & Stitch reminding everyone just how big these movies can become.
But after spending so much time redoing multiple Disney classics from the 1990s and before, Moana marks a completely different attempt. Hitting theaters in exactly one month on July 10, 2026, the live-action remake comes while the animated franchise is still incredibly relevant.
Moana’s Remake Tests How Quickly Disney Can Bring Animated Hits Into Live-Action
The difference with Moana‘s live-action remake is the speed at which it comes. Disney released the original animated movie only 10 years ago. It remains incredibly popular to this day, as the musical is consistently featured among the most-viewed titles on Disney+ each year. Audiences’ interest in Moana, Maui, and the rest of this world is exactly why Disney altered plans for a Disney+ series to become a sequel movie, 2024’s Moana 2.
Having only 10 years between the original and the remake (and two years separating the retelling from the last animated installment) gives Moana the shortest gap of any Disney live-action remake. Throughout the previous 20 reimaginings, which have made over $12 billion collectively, there was an average gap of 50 years between the two versions.
Before Moana, the shortest gap came with 2020’s Mulan, which arrived 22 years after the 1998 classic. This is notable because Disney has not given audiences nearly as much time to miss Moana. There’s no new generation of potential fans who haven’t experienced her story already and could be introduced to it in live-action. Similarly, there’s a lack of built-up nostalgia for this IP that Disney often relies on for these movies to become hits.
Rather than wait another decade or more to do a live-action Moana (after its animated franchise completely wraps up), Disney is pushing the boundaries of how quickly audiences will embrace these remakes, especially when they are largely shot-for-shot adaptations. It could result in their biggest hit from these movies or prove that not enough time has passed for audiences to want a remake.
Why Disney Needs Quicker Turnarounds On Live-Action Remakes
Disney is not in a position to wait longer to bring Moana and other more modern movies into live-action, though. This initiative has already resulted in the studio burning through most of the iconic animated movies. There are lesser-known properties that could still be redone in live-action, but they don’t carry enough interest for Disney to feel comfortable betting on them to be huge box office hits.
The cupboards of classic animated movies left to remake have run almost bare, forcing Disney to turn its attention to its more recent successes. It also becomes a way for the studio to better engage viewers with stories they have more affinity for. Lilo & Stitch, Moana, and the upcoming Tangled remake are all tackling characters that are already incredibly popular with younger audiences, rather than being ones that grown adults hold more dearly.
Considering the success that Disney found with Lilo & Stitch and the expected strong performance for Moana, this shift won’t end anytime soon. The reality is that Disney could look to just speed up the turnarounds as we move forward, bringing Frozen, Encanto, Raya and the Last Dragon, and others to live-action sooner than ever before.
- Release Date
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July 10, 2026
- Runtime
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120 Minutes
- Director
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Thomas Kail