Johnson says negative reviews come with the business
Dwayne Johnson responded to the criticism by accepting that reviews can shift quickly once a major film reaches audiences. Discussing the live-action Moana remake, he recalled that its first two reviews were “amazing” before the wider response “went another way”.
As our sister site IGN Middle East reported in its coverage of Johnson’s response, the actor told People: “That’s just the way it goes because we’re in this business.”
Johnson, who reprised his role as Maui from Disney’s 2016 animated film, did not argue with viewers who disliked the remake. “If you love it, great. If you don’t, no problem,” he said.
The critical reception was severe. Rotten Tomatoes listed the live-action film at 31% from critics, while its audience score stood at 88%. IGN awarded it 6/10 ahead of its premiere, reflecting a much cooler critical response than the audience rating suggested.
The theatrical numbers presented a larger problem
Moana’s reported box-office performance left the remake struggling to justify its substantial production budget. The film earned $95 million globally during its opening weekend and had accumulated $261 million by its fourth weekend in cinemas.
Variety reported a production budget of $250 million. Those figures placed the film well behind the level of performance achieved by Disney’s live-action Lilo & Stitch remake.
Johnson said he tried to look beyond the immediate reaction surrounding opening weekend. “The challenge was, okay, let’s remember, though, what’s going to be beyond this opening weekend,” he said. His response treats harsh reviews as an occupational reality, but the theatrical figures give Disney a more concrete problem than criticism alone.
Polynesian representation remains Johnson’s priority
Johnson said the film’s representation of Polynesian culture mattered more to him than its reviews. He described children being able to see themselves on the big screen as the reason the movie was made.
“Because of me and our kids who can now look at the big screen and go, ‘That’s us for the first time on a big screen,’” Johnson said. “’That’s us up there. How cool is that?’”
His wife, Lauren Hashian, added that the community understood what the film was trying to accomplish. She also pointed to its themes of family, love, loss, and perseverance as ideas that extend beyond Polynesian audiences.
Disney is continuing with its live-action remake pipeline despite Moana’s performance. A live-action reimagining of Tangled is in production, with set leaks offering an early look at members of its cast. Moana therefore leaves the studio with two contrasting signals: a significant gap between critics and audiences, and theatrical numbers that fell short of its ambitions.
Leave a Reply