The reaction to Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson’s live-action version of Maui was not great. Many fans were so put off by it that one of his biggest box office flops trended online.
Disney released the first trailer and poster for the live-action Moana movie, which hits theatres on July 10. Fans immediately criticized Johnson’s portrayal of Maui, a character he voiced in the original 2016 film and its 2024 sequel.
Some of the criticisms lobbied at Johnson included his wig looking bad and not being muscular enough. One fan said that Johnson “doesn’t even look like Maui?, he looks like The Rock cosplaying as Maui,” which is a bad thing.
“WHAT THE ACTUAL F*CK. And I thought the cgi skinny Black Adam version of him was bad,” one fan wrote on Twitter/X.
Fans blamed Black Adam’s failure for the new Maui in Moana
Fans apparently felt so strongly about the new Maui that it caused Johnson’s 2022 box office bust, Black Adam, to trend on social media again. Many blasted the film’s lack of success as the reason the new Moana even got approved in the first place.
“You know guys, this wouldn’t be happening if only we had been kinder to Black Adam,” one fan wrote on Twitter/X.
“Streets saying The Rock rushed this project because Black Adam flopped and DC was restarting so he had nothing else,” wrote another.
Black Adam grossed nearly $400 million at the worldwide box office. Despite that, the film is generally considered to be a box office flop. This is mostly due to its estimated $195–$260 million budget and massive marketing costs. Variety reported that the film would have needed to earn around $600 million worldwide to break even. However, it ultimately lost an estimated $50 million to $100 million in its theatrical run.
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