Disney’s Live-Action Moana Tops Disney+ Worldwide, Beating Halloween Favorites
Disney’s live-action Moana has done on streaming what it could not do in theaters: it has become the movie everybody is watching. On October 31, the 2026 remake sat at No. 1 on Disney+ worldwide, according to streaming tracker FlixPatrol, moving ahead of a field full of familiar Halloween-season favorites and holding a top spot it has barely given up since it arrived on the service in October.
It is a striking turnaround for a film that was widely described as a box office disappointment over the summer. The remake, which stars Catherine Laga‘aia as Moana and Dwayne Johnson as Maui, opened in theaters on July 10, 2026, and went on to earn about $323.6 million worldwide, including about $126.2 million in North America. Against a reported production budget of about $250 million, that left the film well short of the kind of theatrical return Disney expects from one of its biggest live-action remakes.
At home, the story looks very different. The film is listed by Disney as a 2026 action-adventure, running 1 hour and 55 minutes with a PG rating, and it is now streaming on Disney+. Once it landed there, viewers arrived in large numbers, and they have kept coming. Reports tracking its first days on the service found it at No. 1 in the United States almost immediately, and the October 31 worldwide chart showed it still leading, ahead of Coco in second place.
Beating Halloween on its own weekend
The timing makes the result more impressive. Halloween is usually a showcase for Disney’s seasonal catalog, with families returning year after year to the same titles. On October 31, however, the live-action Moana was ahead of them all on the worldwide Disney+ movie chart. The Nightmare Before Christmas sat in third place, while Hocus Pocus was sixth and Home Alone seventh, according to the FlixPatrol chart reported on October 31.
That is not a one-day spike. Earlier coverage of the film’s streaming debut found it holding No. 1 in the United States day after day, even as other titles moved up and down around it. The rest of the franchise has benefited too: the original 2016 animated Moana and its 2024 sequel, Moana 2, have both spent time in the Disney+ top 10 alongside the remake, turning what looked like a single-film disappointment into a franchise-wide streaming surge.
For Disney, that pattern is familiar. The original animated Moana has been a fixture of Disney+ viewing since the service launched, and its songs and characters have stayed in the cultural conversation far longer than a single theatrical run. The live-action version appears to be tapping into the same audience, only now with the convenience of a living-room rewatch and a new generation of young viewers discovering the story for the first time.
A familiar story, retold in live action
Directed by Thomas Kail, best known for Hamilton, the remake follows the same story as the 2016 animated hit. Moana, a young Polynesian wayfinder, sails beyond the reef of her island home to stop a darkness spreading across the ocean, and teams up with the demigod Maui on a voyage that tests both of them.
Johnson is the bridge between the two versions. He voiced Maui in the original animated film and returns to play the character in live action, while Laga‘aia takes on the title role. That continuity has been central to the film’s marketing, and it helps explain why the remake feels less like a replacement for the animated original and more like a companion to it — a version families can watch alongside the one they already know by heart.
Critics, however, were far less enthusiastic than audiences. The remake holds a 33 percent critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes, compared with an 87 percent audience score, a split that has become one of the defining features of its reception. Reviewers found the film too faithful, too polished, or simply unnecessary, while viewers — particularly families — have treated it as an easy, enjoyable rewatch. The streaming numbers suggest that, at least at home, the audience verdict is winning.
Why the box office numbers looked so soft
Part of the theatrical disappointment was about expectations. The original Moana earned about $684 million worldwide in 2016, and Disney’s recent live-action remakes are usually judged against that kind of scale. The 2026 film opened to about $43.1 million domestically, a solid start for most films but a modest one for a $250 million production carrying one of Disney’s most recognizable titles.
The summer calendar did it no favors either. The film arrived in a crowded season, and its theatrical run ended up closer to a respectable mid-tier hit than to the blockbuster Disney had planned. That is why the streaming turnaround matters so much to the film’s legacy: a movie that looked like a write-off in July is now, in late October, the most-watched film on Disney’s own platform.
It also fits a wider pattern for Johnson’s recent films, several of which have found larger audiences at home than in theaters. For Disney, the question is less whether the remake was a theatrical hit — it was not, by the studio’s own standards — and more whether its long life on Disney+ can justify the investment over time, through subscriptions, repeat viewing, and renewed interest in the wider Moana franchise.
What to watch next
For viewers who have not yet seen it, the live-action Moana is now available to stream on Disney+, alongside the 2016 original and Moana 2. That makes a full franchise marathon possible in a single weekend, and the current chart suggests plenty of households are doing exactly that.
How long the remake can hold No. 1 is the next test. Streaming charts turn over quickly, and November brings a fresh wave of new releases across every service. For now, though, the film that struggled to fill theaters in July is beating Halloween itself at home — and proving, once again, that a movie’s first weekend is not always its final verdict.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Disney’s live-action Moana No. 1 on Disney+?
Yes. According to FlixPatrol’s October 31, 2026 chart, the live-action Moana was the No. 1 movie on Disney+ worldwide, ahead of Coco, The Nightmare Before Christmas and Hocus Pocus.
Who stars in the live-action Moana?
Catherine Laga‘aia stars as Moana, and Dwayne Johnson plays Maui, the role he voiced in the original 2016 animated film. The remake was directed by Thomas Kail.
When was the live-action Moana released?
The film was released in theaters on July 10, 2026, and arrived on Disney+ in October 2026, where it quickly climbed to No. 1.
How much did the live-action Moana make at the box office?
The remake earned about $323.6 million worldwide, including about $126.2 million in North America, against a reported production budget of about $250 million.
What are the Rotten Tomatoes scores for live-action Moana?
The film holds a 33 percent critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes, compared with a much stronger 87 percent audience score.
Where can I watch live-action Moana?
The live-action Moana is streaming on Disney+, alongside the original 2016 animated film and the 2024 sequel Moana 2. Disney lists it as a PG-rated action-adventure running 1 hour and 55 minutes.
References
Men’s Journal: “Dwayne Johnson’s New Movie Is the No. 1 Movie on Disney+ Worldwide, Beating 3 Halloween Favorites” (Oct. 31, 2026) — https://www.mensjournal.com/entertainment/dwayne-johnsons-new-movie-is-the-no-1-movie-on-disney-worldwide-beating-3-halloween-favorites
CBR: “Disney’s $324M Adventure Remake Refuses to Give Up the No. 1 Spot on Streaming” (Oct. 29, 2026) — https://www.cbr.com/moana-adventures-disney-plus-success-october-2026/
Collider: “Disney’s Biggest Box Office Bomb of 2026 Officially Redeems Itself on Streaming” — https://collider.com/moana-live-action-remake-streaming-success-disney-plus-october-2026/
ComingSoon: “Dwayne Johnson’s Massive 2026 Flop Is Suddenly No. 1 Movie on Streaming” (Oct. 27, 2026) — https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/2213162-dwayne-johnson-moana-disney-flop-no-1-streaming-movie
FandomWire: “Dwayne Johnson’s 115-Minute Adventure Film Is Officially World’s #1 Movie on Streaming” — https://fandomwire.com/dwayne-johnson-moana-world-number-1-movie-disney/
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