Will the new 'Moana' live up to the original? What past Disney remakes tell us, in 4 charts.

Key Points:

• Disney's live-action remake of Moana premieres this Friday, continuing the studio's recent trend of reimagining classic animated films with real actors and CGI, despite some public skepticism about the necessity of such remakes, especially given Moana's original release just 10 years ago.
• Over the past decade, Disney has released around a dozen live-action remakes, with several achieving significant box office success, including four films surpassing $1 billion globally, notably the 2019 Lion King remake which grossed $1.66 billion, though some releases like Snow White (2023) have underperformed financially.
• Comparing the financial success of remakes to their original animated versions is complex due to changes in the film industry, inflation, and global markets, but generally, remakes have earned more than the originals, except for Snow White, which fell short of its 1937 predecessor's inflation-adjusted earnings.
• Critically, original animated films tend to receive higher ratings on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes compared to their live-action counterparts, with exceptions like The Jungle Book remake (2016) and audience-focused metrics showing some remakes, such as Lilo & Stitch, are sometimes favored by viewers over the originals.
• Disney plans more live-action remakes, including Tangled and Hercules, indicating the studio's ongoing investment in this strategy despite mixed critical reception and varying box office results.