{"id":543095,"date":"2026-07-10T17:51:10","date_gmt":"2026-07-10T17:51:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/543095\/"},"modified":"2026-07-10T17:51:10","modified_gmt":"2026-07-10T17:51:10","slug":"box-office-moana-makes-4-5-million-in-previews-for-live-action-movie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/543095\/","title":{"rendered":"Box Office: ‘Moana’ Makes $4.5 Million in Previews for Live-Action Movie"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tDisney\u2019s \u201cMoana<\/a>\u201d is setting sail at the box office<\/a> once again.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tThe beloved 2016 animated musical is the latest Disney film to get the live-action treatment. The new take on the film, starring Catherine Laga\u2019aia as Moana and Dwayne Johnson reprising his role as the buff god Maui, has made $4.5 million in previews at the box office.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tThe film is estimated to open between\u00a0$60 million to $65 million this weekend, though some projections are softer at around $40 million. An opening on the lower end would leave the tropical film floundering under the weight of its massive $250 million production budget, plus global marketing costs. The international box office could rescue the film, where \u201cMoana\u201d is expected to add another $70 million to $75 million to its haul.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cMoana\u201d could join the likes of\u00a0Disney\u2019s \u201cDumbo\u201d remake, which opened to $45 million in 2019, and 2025\u2019s \u201cSnow White\u201d ($42 million),\u00a0as less successful live-action remakes. On the other end, \u201cLilo & Stitch,\u201d \u201cThe Lion King\u201d and \u201cBeauty and the Beast\u201d all debuted with more than $100 million and became huge hits for the studio. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cMoana\u2019s\u201d preview haul is comparable to \u201cLightyear\u2019s\u201d $5.2 million and \u201cGhostbusters: Frozen Empire\u2019s\u201d $4.7 million. \u201cLightyear\u201d ultimately debuted to $50.6 million, while \u201cGhostbusters: Frozen Empire\u201d launched with $45 million.<\/p>\n

\n\tIf \u201cMoana\u201d fails to draw crowds, timing may be a factor. The live-action musical is launching just two years after \u201cMoana 2\u201d became a billion-dollar blockbuster. The sequel, originally conceived as a TV series and turned into a feature film, shattered expectations and opened with $225 million over the Thanksgiving holiday. The original \u201cMoana\u201d was also a hit with\u00a0$680 million worldwide, after opening with $56 million, when it released in 2016.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tAlso opening this weekend is \u201cEvil Dead Burn,\u201d the sixth entry in Warner Bros.\u2019 horror franchise. It\u2019s estimated to open with\u00a0$15 million to $20 million and only cost $20 million to produce.\u00a0\u201cEvil Dead Burn\u201d nabbed $2.3 million in previews.<\/p>\n

\n\tElsewhere, A24 and Olivia Wilde\u2019s \u201cThe Invite\u201d is aiming to add $4 million to $5 million when it expands nationwide this weekend. Universal\u2019s \u201cMinions & Monsters,\u201d last week\u2019s box office champ, is expected to collect $17 million to $22 million in its second weekend, and \u201cToy Story 5\u201d is on track for $18 million to $20 million in its fourth weekend.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Disney\u2019s \u201cMoana\u201d is setting sail at the box office once again.\u00a0 The beloved 2016 animated musical is the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":543096,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[2478,93,61,60,82917,270],"class_list":["post-543095","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-movies","tag-box-office","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-moana","tag-movies"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/543095","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=543095"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/543095\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/543096"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=543095"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=543095"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=543095"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}