0:03
Disney's Live-Action Moana Bombs at the Box Office With Opening Weekend That Barely Beats Snow White
Disney’s live‑action take on Moana opened to a global total of about ninety‑five million dollars, just edging out Snow White’s under‑performing eighty‑seven‑point‑three million from its 2025 debut. The split looks like roughly forty‑three million domestically and fifty‑two million from overseas markets, enough to keep it on top of the mid‑July weekend but far short of the sixty‑to‑sixty‑five million domestic and seventy‑five million international numbers Disney had hoped for. With a reported production budget near two‑hundred‑fifty million, the opening feels more like a soft splash than the wave the studio was aiming for.
The film stars Catherine Laga’aia as the titular heroine and brings Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson back as Maui, but even their star power couldn’t lift the box office to the levels Disney’s live‑action pipeline was counting on. The modest debut adds pressure to the slate of upcoming remakes, which includes a Tangled release slated for 2028 and other projects like live‑action Bambi, Hercules, a sequel to Lilo and Stitch, and a Beauty and the Beast spin‑off focused on the villain Gaston.
Meanwhile, Universal and Lionsgate’s Michael Jackson biopic broke a new record by crossing the one‑billion‑dollar mark worldwide, becoming the first biopic to do so. Toy Story 5 is not far behind, pulling in eight‑hundred‑seventy‑nine million after its fourth weekend, while Warner Bros.’ Supergirl still lags at about one‑hundred‑fifteen million, well under the two‑hundred‑million target that would have marked a healthier return for the DC franchise.
All in all, Moana’s live‑action version is struggling to find its sea legs, and the numbers suggest Disney may need to rethink how it approaches these big‑budget remakes moving forward.
0:47
Disney's live-action Moana crashes to shore with an underwhelming splash at the box office
Disney’s new live‑action Moana has hit theaters with Dwayne Johnson back as Maui and Catherine Lagaʻaia stepping into the role of the Polynesian princess. Lagaʻaia’s performance is getting the nod, with many noting she brings fresh energy to the story.
Critics, however, aren’t buying the whole package. The consensus is that the film feels like a shot‑for‑shot remake of the original animated hit, and the reviews have been pretty flat across the board.
That lukewarm reception is showing up at the box office. The movie’s opening numbers are modest, far from the splash Disney hoped for, and it’s already being labeled an underwhelming start.
All in all, the live‑action version is getting mixed signals: a solid lead from Johnson, a standout newcomer in Lagaʻaia, but a lot of disappointment from reviewers and ticket sales alike.
1:09
Disney’s live-action Moana fails to make a splash at box office with underwhelming opening
Hey, just caught the box‑office numbers for Disney’s live‑action Moana. It opened at the top spot in North America, but the figures are modest.
The film pulled
1:16
The real mystery behind Moana: After 1,700 years, why did Polynesians suddenly sail east?
I’ve been chewing on this new study about why Polynesians broke their long‑standing pattern and started heading east about 1,700 years ago. The key isn’t a sudden cultural spark; it’s a shift in ocean conditions that turned the western Pacific into a more reliable highway. Sediment cores show a dip in El Niño frequency around that time, which steadied the trade winds and reduced the chaotic storms that usually kept islands isolated.
With calmer winds, the same double‑hull canoes that had been hugging coastlines could finally venture farther without fearing unexpected squalls. The researchers also point to a modest rise in sea‑surface temperatures that expanded the range of the tuna and other pelagic fish that the voyagers relied on, turning distant islands into tempting feeding grounds.
So the “mystery” is less about a heroic decision and more about a subtle climate tweak that opened a corridor. Once the seas behaved, the navigators—already skilled at reading stars and swells—took advantage, and the settlement wave spread across the Pacific.
1:44
The real mystery behind Moana: After 1,700 years, why did Polynesians suddenly sail east?
A new paleo‑climate analysis of coral cores and sediment layers shows a brief cooling event about 1,700 years ago that would have shifted wind patterns across the central Pacific. The researchers used high‑resolution isotopic dating, so the timing is fairly precise, though it’s just one regional dataset.
Those altered winds likely made the western islands drier and the eastern ones more hospitable, giving Polynesian crews a practical reason to test new routes rather than a purely mythic impulse. The study links the climate shift to a spike in archaeological finds on islands like Easter and Hawai‘i.
So the “mystery” isn’t mystical at all—environmental change created a window of opportunity that many seafarers took advantage of.
2:04
The real mystery behind Moana: After 1,700 years, why did Polynesians suddenly sail east?
A recent paleo‑climate study—based on coral cores and lake sediments—reconstructed wind patterns across the central Pacific about 1,700 years ago. The researchers found a pronounced shift toward stronger, more consistent east‑to‑west trade winds that lasted a few centuries.
Those wind changes would have lowered the sailing risk for canoes heading east, turning a long, unpredictable drift into a more reliable route. The timing lines up with the archaeological record: pottery, tools and settlement traces suddenly appear on islands like Easter and the Marquesas after that wind shift.
So the “mystery” isn’t a sudden cultural spark; it looks like a climate‑driven opening of a navigational highway that Polynesians took advantage of.
2:25
Former Qatar ruler Sheikh Hamad, a moderniser who seized power, has died
Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Qatar's former emir, died at 74. He seized power in 1995 after overthrowing his father, Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad Al-Thani. The takeover marked a significant shift in Qatar's modernisation efforts.
Sheikh Hamad's rule was characterised by significant investments in education, healthcare, and infrastructure. He also played a key role in Qatar's foreign policy, particularly during the Arab Spring.
In 2013, Sheikh Hamad stepped down as emir and handed power to his son, Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani. This move was seen as a break from tradition, as Qatar's rulers had previously maintained power for life.
2:42
Former Qatar ruler Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani dies aged 74
Sheikh Hamad was known for having helped bring about huge economic, social, and cultural change in Qatar during his reign and helping establish the nation as a global player in diplomacy and investment.
2:49
comedy · the week's top 10 · july 13th
From storyflo. This is your daily audio brief for July 13th.
Here are this week's top 10 comedy stories. We are running a curated backlog catch-up so today's comedy show has the same shape as the rest of the daily lineup.
Let's get into it.
First, from The Hard Times. Raw Milk Advocate Now Diarrhea Advocate.
EAST TROY, Wis.
2:59
Theo on A.I. · July 12th
From storyflo. This is your daily audio brief for July 12th.
Theo, July 12th. The systems update — five tech stories that bear on what's coming next.
Let's get into it.
First, from The Decoder. AI agents win at Slay the Spire 2 after researchers replace growing chat logs with structured memory.
Researchers replaced the ever-growing chat log of AI agents with five separate memory layers, allowing them to process information more efficiently. This change kept the agent's prompt at around 5,000 tokens, a significant reduction from the ballooning 500,000 tokens it used to require.
