Disney CEO Admits 'Moana' and 'The Mandalorian & Grogu' Fell Short, But There’s a Catch

Disney doesn’t live on records alone. In an interview with Variety, CEO Josh D'Amaro acknowledged that Moana and Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu underperformed at the box office. Even so, the executive said both films boosted other areas of the company, such as merchandise sales, theme parks, gaming, and streaming.

"The Mandalorian and Grogu drove healthy growth in rtail sales for the Sar Wars franchise and drew visitors to the updated Millennium Falcon attraction at Disneyland and Walt Disney World, and led to significant engagement in gaming as well,” he explained. 

As for Moana, D'Amaro said the expectation is that the live-action film will perform strongly when it arrives on Disney+, repeating the success of the original animated movie, which remains among the most-watched films in streaming history. For the CEO, these franchise investments "contributed to value creation beyond their theatrical releases."

In theaters, however, the numbers fell short of expectations. Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu opened over the Memorial Day holiday in the United States with $81 million and finished its theatrical run with $345 million worldwide, well below the billion-dollar box office totals of Star Wars: The Last Jedi and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

The live-action Moana, meanwhile, grossed $262 million worldwide, virtually the same as its production budget, estimated at around $250 million. According to Variety, the film is expected to generate an approximate loss of $100 million for Disney during its theatrical run.