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Post-mortems on a film are coming fast these days, with both Deadline and Variety reporting that Disney’s live-action “Moana” could lose the studio $100-125 million by the time it wraps its theatrical run.
The loss being calculated assumes the film will hit $250 million at the worldwide box-office, and that’s a big if at this point. The A- CinemaScore may keep business going in the coming weeks, but we’ll see.
The film has gotten off to a weak start theatrically this weekend – taking in just $43 million domestically and a further $52 million overseas for a $95 million worldwide opening by the end of Sunday.
That makes it one of the weakest starts for a Disney live-action effort, with comparisons already being made to last year’s disastrous “Snow White” film (which debuted to $42 million domestically & $87 million worldwide).
Whereas the failure of that film was seen as the property was simply too old and thus lacked cultural resonance, here it’s being tied to it being too soon for nostalgia to drive any audiences – especially with the $1 billion grossing animated sequel releasing not that long ago.
The trades put the film’s production cost at $250 million and global marketing spend at $145 million, with much of the cost relating to both Johnson’s salary and heavy VFX usage. Social media conversations have revolved around the VFX, the film’s muted color scheme, digital backgrounds, Johnson’s questionable wig and the overall lack of necessity for the film.
The post “Moana” Could Lose Disney $125 Million appeared first on Dark Horizons.
