©Courtesy of Disney
THR sources have reported that Disney’s live-action remake of the 2010 animated film “Tangled” has been put on hold. The project had been in active development and Michael Gracey, the filmmaker of “The Greatest Showman” and “Better Man,” was on board to direct the project from a script by Jennifer Kaytin Robinson (Thor: Love and Thunder).
Disney’s live-action version of “Snow White” was released last month , and it was plagued by controversy from the start, with poor reviews and poor box-office performance. The movie has only grossed $69 million domestically and $145 million worldwide on a production budget of $270 million due to the 2023 labor strikes.
It seems that the studio has taken notice, and it’s uncertain whether “Tangled” will continue or be reimagined creatively. Disney’s live-action features strategy has lost some key executives who were behind it, so the demand for more of them appears to be diminishing.
Since the early 2010s, Disney has been pursuing a live-action feature strategy that is heavily dependent upon returning to its archive and repurposing its old titles.
Some of the features were extremely successful (“Beauty and the Beast“, “Aladdin“, “The Lion King“), while others (“Dumbo“, “Pete’s Dragon“) were not. Barry Jenkins’ “Mufasa: The Lion King” started off slowly with a $35.4 million domestic opening, but eventually gained momentum and ended up with an impressive $718 million global box office. “The Little Mermaid” had earned a disappointing $570 million prior to this.
In the next 15 months, audiences will have the opportunity to see two more live-action remakes to gauge their interest.
Disney’s confidence in their success is bolstered by the glimmers in each one. May 23 is when “Lilo & Stitch“, a remake of the 2002 animated film, will be released in theaters. During this year’s Super Bowl game, a spot featuring Stitch crashing the field generated 173.1 million views in 24 hours, making it Disney’s most viewed digital spot. The trailer became the second-most-viewed Disney live-action trailer ever.
And July 10, 2026 is the date when the live-action “Moana” will sail. The film has the benefit of being based on a big movie that is available on Disney+, surpassing 1.4 billion hours, which Disney has stated is equivalent to streaming the film over 735 million times. Playing the Grammy-winning, Oscar-nominated song ‘How Far I’ll Be Going’ on repeat for more than half a millennium. The animated sequel, “Moana 2“, has already grossed $1 billion since it was released last November, making it the third-highest-grossing film of 2024.
So, the “Lilo & Stitch” remake opening next month and ‘Moana’ live-action next summer will be a significant challenge for Disney’s future live-action plans.