In addition to two high-profile movie premieres this week, South Africans can check out a handful of other films. The latter includes limited screenings for two new South African dramas, both set in KZN, namely God’s Work, and Sugar Cane Boy. Alternatively, there’s comedy adventure Dhamaal 4 out of Bollywood, and the Throwback return of 1982 movie musical Annie. Now for the biggies.
We’re not entirely sure how we feel about a live-action version of Moana, given that the beloved animated original is only a decade old, and given how heavily CGI this remake is. Yet here we are. Catherine Laga’aia brings the title character to life – the adventurous daughter of a Polynesian chief, who is chosen by the Ocean to venture forth from her island home and combat the blight threatening her community. Joining our heroine on her voyage is pet pig Puac, rooster Heihei and shape-shifting demigod Maui (a long-haired Dwayne Johnson reprising the role he voiced in 2016’s Moana, and its sequel). Hamilton’s Thomas Kail directs the film, which is enjoying both a traditional cinema and IMAX release.
Look out for our Moana (2026) review soon.
Releasing with very little fuss is horror film Evil Dead Burn, the latest standalone entry in the Evil Dead movie franchise. With French filmmaker Sébastien Vaniček at the helm of this technically sixth Evil Dead, the nightmarish action kicks off when newly widowed Alice (Souheila Yacoub) seeks comfort with her in-laws in their remote home. However, when The Book of the Dead is read aloud from, one by one the family are transformed into vicious, unstoppable Deadites. Look out for Pearl’s Tandi Wright and Wednesday’s Hunter Doohan in the film.