Where and When to Stream the ‘Moana’ Live-Action Film

How can I watch Moana now?

Moana’s back! No, not the sequel that you totally watched. The live-action adaptation of the 2016 animated film. Instead of dwelling on how it has been almost a decade since the original movie came out, let’s go over how to watch Moana in theaters how and when the new movie will be streaming.

The story, the songs, Jemaine Clement as Tamatoa, and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as Maui are all the same. But the rest of the Moana cast is different. There are little changes sprinkled throughout. (Pua still stays home, though, unfortunately...) And there’s, like, an obvious realism to seeing 3D faces instead of 3D animation.

The live-action Moana is in theaters as of July 10, 2024! For at least the first weekend, the movie is available to watch in 4DX. Could be fun to ride those waves with them...

BUY TICKETS NOW

Where will Moana be streaming?

Disney+, of course!

When will Moana be streaming?

Let’s use the last live-action princess-y adaptation, Snow White, as an example. That movie was released in theaters on March 21, 2025. It was available on PVOD starting May 13, 2025 and got added to Disney+ on June 11, 2025.

If Moana follows the same three month trajectory, we should be seeing it on Disney+ by the middle of October, 2026. Not too bad, right?

What to watch/do while you wait:

Watch Moana (2016). Have you heard of it? It’s so good. Watch Moana! Watch the sing-a-long version, even though that’s basically no different from putting on closed captions. Then you can watch Moana 2 after, if you didn’t catch that one in theaters. There’s a behind-the-scenes special look at the new live-action Moana up there on Disney+, as well as some fun special features and deleted scenes from the original.

What else is on Disney+ that you may not have seen, or even noticed? I always recommend the documentary Howard to Disney enthusiasts. Have you seen the Encanto or Lion King concerts from the Hollywood Bowl on Disney+? That’s a great way to spend an evening. Finally, there are some other good recent Disney/Pixar films up on the platform now, Elio and Hoppers, that you can check out.