عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Entertainment

'Moana' Crashes to Shore with Underwhelming Splash at Box Office

Executive producer Auli’i Cravalho attends the world premiere for the film Moana at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, California, US July 7, 2026. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni
Executive producer Auli’i Cravalho attends the world premiere for the film Moana at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, California, US July 7, 2026. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni
TT
TT

'Moana' Crashes to Shore with Underwhelming Splash at Box Office

Executive producer Auli’i Cravalho attends the world premiere for the film Moana at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, California, US July 7, 2026. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni
Executive producer Auli’i Cravalho attends the world premiere for the film Moana at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, California, US July 7, 2026. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni

The Walt Disney Company’s live action “Moana” may be the No. 1 movie at the domestic box office, but it did not make a big splash in its first weekend in theaters.

The movie, which cost a reported $250 million to produce, earned just $43 million from ticket sales in the US and Canada, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Internationally, it earned $52 million from 50 markets, adding up to a $95 million global debut, The Associated Press reported.

The studio bet big on “Moana,” one of its most popular franchises. The 2016 animated film is the most watched movie on Disney+. Its sequel, which was stitched together from a planned streaming series, made over $1 billion and scored a Thanksgiving record when it opened with $225 million in 2024.

“Moana 2” was also released just 19 months ago.

This latest “Moana,” directed by Thomas Kail, brings Dwayne Johnson back as the demigod Maui and introduces Catherine Lagaʻaia as the adventuring Polynesian princess. Despite praise for Lagaʻaia, the film set sail on a wave of dismal reviews from critics for being essentially a shot-for-shot remake of the original.

It’s currently sitting at a 34% on Rotten Tomatoes. Audiences, the majority of whom were women (66%), were less negative: According to PostTrak, 63% said they would “definitely” recommend the film to their friends. Parent reactions were even stronger, with 78% saying they would recommend it to other parents. It also got a promising A- CinemaScore.

Disney’s live action remakes of beloved animated films, new and old, have had their share of successes and disappointments. Some have made over $1 billion, including “Lilo & Stitch,” “The Lion King” and “Beauty and the Beast.” Others have floundered, most notably last year’s “Snow White,” which made only $205 million worldwide.

Paul Dergarabedian, the head of marketplace trends for Rentrak, said “Moana's” debut could also be a product of PG-rated oversaturation in the marketplace: Universal’s “Minions & Monsters” was in second place with $20.5 million and “Toy Story 5” was close behind in third place with $18.5 million.

“Families love going to the movies, but right now there are three of them,” Dergarabedian said. “That’s a lot of competition.”

PG-rated films outgrossed others in 2024 and 2025, so “Moana's” performance may not be a case of “family movie fatigue,” he said, but simply shows there can be a ceiling. Families have to make a choice, and after four weekends, “Toy Story 5” is still going strong with a running global total of $879.1 million.

There also are signs that these movies might not sink or swim based on the opening weekend alone. Although “Minions & Monsters” opened below expectations over the Fourth of July holiday, it also had a modest 45% drop this weekend. Its running domestic total is currently sitting at $108.3 million

The weekend’s other big new opener was definitely not PG: The R-rated horror “Evil Dead Burn,” a Warner Bros. release, opened to $13.7 million and landed in fourth place.

Angel Studios’ George Washington movie “Young Washington” rounded out the top five in its second weekend in theaters, with $6.4 million.

Most Viewed

 
 
Entertainment

A Viking Longship in ‘The Odyssey’? It’s a Case of History Meets Hollywood

The Draken Harald Harfagre, the ship used in the movie "The Odyssey", is docked outside Oslo Opera in the Norwegian capital on August 14, 2026. (AFP)
The Draken Harald Harfagre, the ship used in the movie "The Odyssey", is docked outside Oslo Opera in the Norwegian capital on August 14, 2026. (AFP)
TT
TT

A Viking Longship in ‘The Odyssey’? It’s a Case of History Meets Hollywood

The Draken Harald Harfagre, the ship used in the movie "The Odyssey", is docked outside Oslo Opera in the Norwegian capital on August 14, 2026. (AFP)
The Draken Harald Harfagre, the ship used in the movie "The Odyssey", is docked outside Oslo Opera in the Norwegian capital on August 14, 2026. (AFP)

The eras of "The Odyssey" and the Vikings happened about 2,000 years apart -- so how did a Viking longship end up with a starring role in this year's blockbuster movie?

Look to director Christopher Nolan, and his obsession with bringing spectacle to life with real props, real scenes.

But also credit a team of Norwegian shipwrights and sailors who built a vessel that speaks to both history and Hollywood.

With its tar-soaked rigging, creaking oak deck and 50 spruce oars, Draken Harald Harfagre is the largest modern replica of a Viking ship.

It mattered little that it had to drop its Scandinavian roots for Greek mythology -- the anachronism blended into the service of Nolan's brand of realism.

For the film, though, Draken had to be stripped of the dragon figurehead at its bow -- typical of the Viking era, from the 8th to 11th centuries -- as it sailed for the cameras in Greek, Italian and Scottish waters.

"We found a Viking ship that had been built exactly according to those ancient specifications. And it was very much the whole shape and the rig that we needed to do a Bronze Age ship," Nolan told US television last month.

"We took the crew, and we put their crew all in our costumes. They became part of the movie crew, as it were. And Odysseus' guys, the actors, joined in with them, and they figured out how to raise the sail, how to rig it, how to row, all of this stuff."

For months, the longship's crew of seasoned sailors rubbed shoulders with Hollywood star Matt Damon, who plays Odysseus on-screen, and a host of professional actors.

- 'Doing the real thing' -

"There was one day where one of the actors who was sitting in front of me got seasick and threw up over the rail. It blew back on me," recalled sailor Trammell Hudson.

"I thought that would be my big scene, because the IMAX camera was very focused on him and me in the background dodging the debris. But I didn't see that particular scene in the film," he told AFP when the Draken and its crew made a recent visit to Oslo.

Based on Homer's epic, Nolan's film retraces the hero Odysseus in a perilous journey to his home on the island of Ithaca after the Trojan War in the 12th century BCE.

Rather than recreating a ship with computer-generated images, Nolan wanted a real one, capable of sailing on the open sea with flesh-and-blood men aboard.

"Most of the scenes would be completely different if it wasn't for us being there, doing the real thing with the real ship and the real crew in the real ocean and real weather," said Emanuel Persson, expedition director for Draken.

"I think the viewers can actually feel the genuine materials. I don't know if you can really smell the tar, but you can tell it's really genuine handicraft instead of being a digital creation," he said.

- All hands on deck -

On board, everyone played their part.

"Matt Damon was very nice and very good. Never complained. Every one of the actors was out for a long time and it was very cold and sometimes rough," recalled the longship captain, Bjorn Ahlander.

"No complaints, nothing, never. So that was fantastic to see."

With such a mixed crew on board, it wasn't always easy to row in perfect sync.

"It's very important that the hundred rowers coordinate because the oars are quite long and they will tangle with each other," Trammell Hudson stressed.

He recalled being thrown "a meter-and-a-half into the air", along with his rowing partner, when the blade of their oar hit a wave head-on.

The sweet memories from the shoot are in sharp contrast to those from neighboring Sweden.

Like Penelope waiting for Odysseus, the owners of another Viking ship used in the film had their patience tested: after the ship incurred damage during a shoot, they had to wait a year for compensation.

Entertainment

ByteDance Signs AI Copyright Pact with Hollywood Trade Group

The ByteDance logo is seen in this illustration taken February 8, 2025. (Reuters)
The ByteDance logo is seen in this illustration taken February 8, 2025. (Reuters)
TT
TT

ByteDance Signs AI Copyright Pact with Hollywood Trade Group

The ByteDance logo is seen in this illustration taken February 8, 2025. (Reuters)
The ByteDance logo is seen in this illustration taken February 8, 2025. (Reuters)

ByteDance ‌and the Motion Picture Association on Monday signed an agreement to strengthen copyright safeguards on the Chinese company's AI video and image-generation models, months after the Hollywood trade group challenged its handling of ‌intellectual property.

The ‌deal, which covers ‌ByteDance's ⁠Seedance video and Seedream ⁠image-generation models, follows a cease-and-desist letter the MPA sent in February over these tools.

Disney and other studios in ⁠February raised concerns the ‌AI ‌tools could generate content featuring copyrighted ‌characters and celebrity likenesses ‌without authorization.

ByteDance said newer versions of the models include stronger intellectual-property protections.

Models ‌are offered through services including TikTok, CapCut and Dreamina.

The ⁠MPA's challenge came amid concerns that Seedance could generate content featuring copyrighted film and television characters without permission.

Both sides said they will continue collaborating on safeguards for copyrighted content as AI technology evolves.

Entertainment

Andrew Garfield Finds Wonder in Everyday Life in ‘The Magic Faraway Tree’

Andrew Garfield at a special screening of "The Magic Faraway Tree" in New York City on July 29. (Getty Images)
Andrew Garfield at a special screening of "The Magic Faraway Tree" in New York City on July 29. (Getty Images)
TT
TT

Andrew Garfield Finds Wonder in Everyday Life in ‘The Magic Faraway Tree’

Andrew Garfield at a special screening of "The Magic Faraway Tree" in New York City on July 29. (Getty Images)
Andrew Garfield at a special screening of "The Magic Faraway Tree" in New York City on July 29. (Getty Images)

Andrew Garfield wants audiences to look up from their phones and remember that there is still plenty of magic in the world around them.

That idea drew the two-time Oscar nominee to “The Magic Faraway Tree,” a family adventure about Tim, a stay-at-home father whose family is forced to reconsider life after his wife, Polly, quits her job. They move to the countryside, where their children discover the magical Faraway Tree and its ever-changing worlds, sending the family into a series of fantastical adventures. The film, based on Enid Blyton’s children’s books, arrives in US theaters on Friday.

For Garfield, the story’s themes of nature, imagination and community feel especially timely as technology increasingly shapes everyday life. “I think people are craving connection and community and a kind of reconnection to the earth and to each other,” he said.

Garfield said he became passionate about the project after reading Simon Farnaby’s screenplay. “I really just adore his sense of whimsy and heartfeltness and magic and joy,” he said. “I felt very, very passionate about it.”

Tim’s journey reflects the film’s larger ideas about finding wonder outside the routine and distractions of modern life. For Garfield, that sense of wonder extends beyond fantasy. “I think it’s all around us,” he said. “There are so many things to be in awe of on this planet.”

The film, he said, is ultimately about recognizing that “there’s magic in the ordinary” as well as in the extraordinary.

Garfield, whose credits include playing Spider-Man, says he is drawn to roles with an element of play, community and the natural world. He focuses on “anything that keeps me awake to the remembering of the connection that we have to each other, the connection we have to nature, how we are all interconnected,” he said.

Garfield grew up reading Enid Blyton’s “The Famous Five” with his brother but did not read “The Faraway Tree” series as a child. His mother introduced him to another beloved literary adventurer: Bilbo Baggins, the hero of J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Hobbit.”

“Any underdog story, really, those are the ones that get me,” Garfield said.

Another childhood escape was the video store. Garfield remembers being fascinated by the rows of VHS tapes and the possibilities behind their covers. The habit has survived in a new form in adulthood: spending an evening browsing streaming services without picking anything, enjoying the feeling of looking “into the windows of all these imaginary worlds.”

That may help explain why Garfield welcomes the resurgence of VHS and other analog technology among younger audiences.

“I dig that,” he said. “The regression to analog is looking good to me.”