Dwayne Johnson is speaking out on Disney‘s live-action Moana not exactly being a hit with critics.
Johnson, who voiced Maui in the original 2016 animated film Moana and its 2024 follow-up, recently spoke to People magazine about how the movie’s early reviews started positively before the reception shifted.
“Our first two reviews came out. I’ll never forget it… They were amazing. I was like, wow,” the actor recalled, before adding that then “it went another way — as sometimes happens. That’s just the way it goes because we’re in this business.”
The Hollywood Reporter’s chief film critic, David Rooney, did, however, give the film a favorable review, calling it “one of Disney’s better live-action remakes.” He added, “The new Moana is a captivating family entertainment that deserves to find an audience.”
The live-action Moana, released in theaters last month, earned a 31 percent critics score on Rotten Tomatoes, while its audience score was significantly higher at 88 percent.
The Smashing Machine star added that he and his wife, Lauren Hashian, had many conversations about the response. “The challenge was, OK, let’s remember, though, what’s going to be beyond this opening weekend. Let’s remember what’s happening right now and the noise that’s happening right now,” he said.
“If you love it, great. If you don’t, no problem,” the Jumanji actor said. But what meant the most to him was that “the culture really stood up,” as Johnson is of Samoan heritage.
“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. That’s us up there. How cool is that?’,” he said.
Catherine Laga’aia starred in the title role, taking over from Auliʻi Cravalho, who voiced the character in the animated films. Johnson reprised his role as Maui in the live-action adaptation.
The film, though, didn’t make waves at the box office, grossing $264 million worldwide against a reported $250 million production budget.