Disney's live-action Moana may have topped the North American box office, but its opening weekend fell short of expectations. The film, produced at a cost of $250 million, earned just $43 million in US and Canadian ticket sales. Its international debut brought in an additional $52 million from 50 markets, bringing the global total to $95 million.
Directed by Thomas Kail, the film features Dwayne Johnson reprising his role as the demigod Maui, with Australian actress Catherine Laga'aia taking on the titular Polynesian princess. Despite receiving recognition for Laga'aia's performance, critics panned the adaptation as essentially a shot-for-shot recreation of the original 2016 animated feature, resulting in a disappointing 34% score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Audience reception was notably more positive. According to PostTrak, 66% of moviegoers were women, with 63% stating they would definitely recommend the film. Parent reactions were even stronger, with 78% saying they would recommend it to other parents. The film also received an A- CinemaScore.
Sources: theguardian.com
The words in bold are from the article.
| 1. adaptation | a. response |
| 2. expectations | b. particularly |
| 3. debut | c. hopes |
| 4. reprising | d. parent |
| 5. titular | e. remake |
| 6. panned | f. title |
| 7. recreation | g. playing again |
| 8. reception | h. opening |
| 9. notably | i. copy |
| 10. parental | j. criticized |
1.e 2.c 3.h 4.g 5.f 6.j 7.i 8.a 9.b 10.d