Josh D’Amaro, CEO of Disney, admitted on the company’s recent earnings call that both the live-action Moana remake and Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu disappointed at the box office.
But like a trail of sparkling pixie dust, there’s a silver lining: Despite the two films’ lackluster performance in theaters, Disney saw success in other areas related to the movies’ releases.
“Even when our franchise films don’t meet our box office expectations, as with the ‘Mandalorian and Grogu’ and the live-action ‘Moana,’ our investments in these core properties fuel other parts of our company,” D’Amaro shared, according to Variety.
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In particular, both movies sparked merchandise sales, increased gaming engagement, and even drove fans to Disney’s theme parks.
“The Mandalorian and Grogu drove healthy growth in retail sales for the Star Wars franchise and drew guests to the updated Millennium Falcon attraction at Disneyland and Walt Disney World, and led to significant engagement in gaming as well,” D’Amaro said.
“And the live-action Moana is expected to be a strong title on Disney+, building on the success of the original film, which is one of the most-streamed movies of all time,” the exec added.
“These franchise investments contributed to value creation beyond their theatrical releases,” the company reiterated in its public earnings statement.
The Mandalorian and Grogu, which opened Memorial Day weekend, made a total of $345 million at the global box office — millions lower than previous Star Wars theatrical releases. Moana has only made $262 million at the box office so far against a reported $250 million production budget.
Still, Disney has plenty to look forward to with regards to its theatrical film releases in the latter half of 2026. In the wake of Sony’s box office record-breaking success with Spider-Man: No Way Home, which takes place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the House of Mouse is eagerly looking ahead to Avengers: Doomsday this December.
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