illion domestically over the five-day Thanksgiving frame and ultimately surpassed $1 billion globally for its run. However, moving it to a theatrical release created a tricky timing situation for the live-action Moana, which began production in mid-2024.

Disney's live-action remakes of its popular animated properties have included such photorealistic versions as Alice in Wonderland (2010), Beauty and the Beast (2017) and The Lion King (2019), all of which opened to more than $100 million domestically. Those three had the benefit of a higher Rotten Tomatoes score than the live-action Moana's current 34 percent critics rating, although The Hollywood Reporter's review from chief film critic David Rooney noted that  this charming new iteration stands confidently on its own. 

The Moana franchise clearly has plenty of fans. Disney touts that the property has amassed more than 1.5 billion hours streamed on Disney+, along with selling more than 22 million toys and surpassing 26 billion music streams.

Also opening in wide release is Warner Bros.  Evil Dead Burn, which kept the No. 4 spot warm with $6.7 million, including Thursday previews. Souheila Yacoub, Tandi Wright and Hunter Doohan star in director Sébastien Vanicek's movie that marks the sixth title in the Evil Dead horror franchise after it kicked off with Sam Raimi's 1981 original.

In his review for THR, Rooney noted the latest film's  orgiastic slaughter.  Earning a B CinemaScore, the new installment follows Evil Dead Rise, which opened to $24.5 million domestically in April 2023.

After kicking off its box office run last week, Universal's Minions   Monsters provided family competition for Moana and heads toward a second-place finish with $6.5 million Friday for a frame of $21 million. This brings its domestic run to $108 million after notching the lowest opening weekend for a film in Illumination's Despicable Me franchise that launched in 2010.

Taking third place is Disney's Toy Story 5, featuring the returns of voice stars Tom Hanks and Tim Allen. The animated sequel picked up $5.6 million on Friday and is expected to come in at around $18.6 million after recently surpassing the $800 million mark in its global run.

Young Washington rounds out the top five, as the Angel Studios release looks to collect $2.1 million Friday in its sophomore frame. William Franklyn-Miller stars as a 20-something George Washington in the film that opened to $19 million domestically over the Fourth of July weekend.