On today’s episode of the “Daily Variety” podcast, our weekly box office segment, Variety’s Rebecca Rubin breaks down what went wrong with Disney’s “Moana” live-action remake. And “Young Washington” creator Jon Irwin explains how his Wonder Project banner is making independent theatrical films work as a business.
It seems like Moana’s box office success was simply a case of too early. Disney just released the Moana sequel in 2024, but the live-action remake didn’t offer much of the urgency to bring families to the complex. The film had a hefty budget of $250 million, and has gone uphill since its humble beginnings at $43 million.
“If you look at something like the live-action remake of ‘Lilo & Stitch’ that came out last summer, it was a huge hit. It made $1 billion at the box office, but it only cost $100 million to make. So if ‘Moana’ had also been around $100 million, I think we’d be having a very different conversation,” Rubin says. “But with a budget of $250 million, it would need to earn around $600 million worldwide to justify that price. And it’s pretty unrealistic to assume it’ll come close to that number.”
As for the reason, Rubin says it all boils down to timing. “This highlights the fact that this happened too soon. Even though ‘Moana’ is very popular, the movie was released 10 years ago, and you would think that’s enough time to build up nostalgia. I think the problem is that the animated sequel was made two years ago and was a huge success. It grossed over $1 billion, so I think that’s why people felt like they had just seen this.”
Irwin, a filmmaker and co-founder of Wonder Project, explains how he made the theatrical business model work for the purpose-built content company he launched in 2021. The strong opening of “Young Washington” is a milestone for the company. Irwin’s passion for the subject was the impetus for an ambitious biopic focusing on George Washington’s formative years.
“[The Wonder Project’s]goal is simply to tell stories that restore faith in things that are worth believing in,” Irwin says.
“I just wanted to write a love letter to America in honor of our 250th anniversary. This was a special moment in our lives, and I was obsessed with the story of the American Revolution. It started about 10 years ago. I was in New York on business, so I couldn’t get into ‘Hamilton.’ It was sold out,” he recalls. “So I decided to read all the books that it was based on. So I started with Washington, and then I became totally obsessed with the story of the American Revolution. And I found a chapter in young Washington’s life that was largely unknown and that defined his character. So I thought this was a great way to start telling the story of America.”
(Photo: John Irwin)
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