The movie, starring Dwayne Johnson and Catherine Laga'aia, is bringing the Moana story back to theaters, following the success of the animated sequel Moana 2.Directed by Thomas Kail, the film earned $4.5 million from Thursday previews on 3,900 screens in North America, aiming for a weekend opening between $60 million and $65 million.Moana follows the girl (Laga'aia) who has amazing navigation skills as she and demigod Maui (Johnson) try to stop a curse from harming her island.
Moana will need to attract family audiences in the coming summer weeks, especially since it has a big $250 million production budget.
The first Moana movie was the most recent Disney animated film to get a live-action remake, and it did well with a $82 million opening in 2016.Moana 2, the animated sequel from 2024, was even more successful, making $225 million in the U.S.and over $1 billion worldwide.
At the Moana premiere in Los Angeles this week, Johnson said he didn't believe people needed to wait years between movies.
He said the themes and values from the original could work well with a real young girl going through similar stories.
In a review, THR's chief film critic David Rooney said the live-action Moana is a "charming new iteration" that stands on its own.
But not all critics liked it, as it got a 36% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Disney has done several live-action remakes of its animated films, including Alice in Wonderland, Beauty and the Beast, and The Lion King, all of which made over $100 million on opening weekends.
The most recent was Lilo & Stitch, which made $146 million in North America and over $1 billion worldwide.It came just two months after Snow White, starring Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot, underperformed with only $42 million in the U.S.
Upcoming projects include a live-action sequel to Lilo & Stitch, while Tangled, starring Teagan Croft and Milo Manheim, is being filmed in Spain with a live-action take on the 2010 animated movie about Rapunzel.
Also opening widely is Evil Dead Burn, directed by Sébastien Vanicek, marking the sixth movie in the Evil Dead series.
It made $2.3 million in Thursday previews.The film features Souheila Yacoub, Tandi Wright, and Hunter Doohan.THR's David Rooney reviewed it as having "orgiastic slaughter." It follows Evil Dead Rise, which opened to $24.5 million in the U.S.in April 2023.
