"Power Rangers" morphed into North American theaters Thursday night, earning $3.6 million from early screenings.

In its opening weekend, the reboot of the popular children's TV show faces competition from "Beauty and the Beast," still going strong in its second frame. It's "Power Rangers" will unseat Disney's live-action remake, with debuted domestically to a record-setting $174 million. Independent analysts expect Lionsgate's franchise reboot to earn $35 million in its opening weekend, with the studio offering a slightly more conservative estimate of between $30 million and $33 million.

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Early response to "Power Rangers" has been mixed, with Rotten Tomatoes rating the film at 43 percent fresh. The consensus among critics is that, while the film isn't bad, there are many elements that could certainly be improved. While the franchise's future will depend on the performance of "Power Rangers," producer Haim Saban has already said "six-movie story arc" is planned.

"Power Rangers" is a reboot of Fox's popular "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers." The original series followed five teens tasked with defending Earth from evil by Zordon, an alien sage. Aided by massive robots called Zords, the Power Rangers faced off against Rita Repulsa, Lord Zedd, and all of their minions in their attempts to protect their world.

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Directed by Dean Israelite, "Power Rangers" stars Dacre Montgomery as Jason Scott, Naomi Scott as Kimberly Hart, RJ Cyler as Billy Cranston, Becky G as Trini Kwan, Ludi Lin as Zack Taylor, Bill Hader as Alpha 5, Bryan Cranston as Zordon and Elizabeth Banks as Rita Repulsa.

(via TheWrap)