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The Little Mermaid‘s box office numbers are in, and the results are mixed. Released over the Memorial Day weekend, the live-action remake of the 1989 animated classic has been in development for years. The Rob Marshall-directed and Halle Bailey-starring remake received mixed reviews among critics, with some praising Bailey’s star-making portrayal of Ariel and the new and updated songs. In contrast, others criticized The Little Mermaid‘s CGI, updated designs for Sebastian (Daveed Diggs), Flounder (Jacob Tremblay), and Scuttle (Awkwafina), and its lengthy runtime.
Per THR, the box office numbers for The Little Mermaid suggest that it is performing well, but has fallen short of its ambitious expectations. It is on track to make $118 million during the four-day Memorial Day weekend, which could make it the fifth highest-grossing release of the holiday. Its three-day gross is currently an estimated $96 million. However, The Little Mermaid isn’t faring as well internationally, opening at $68.3 million, alongside a dismal $2.5 million debut in China.
The Little Mermaid’s Box Office Outlook Explained
While The Little Mermaid‘s box office results in North America are quite successful, it still fell short of its three-day expectations of closer to $100 million. The film will hit that number on Memorial Day, but it was expected to do so during the weekend. Saturday tracking expected The Little Mermaid to make over $125 million domestically in the holiday weekend. However, it looks like it will not hit that number, and the international tally has not been very good.
While some box office analysts attributed The Little Mermaid‘s poor international results to social media campaigns protesting Bailey’s casting, its reviews weren’t overwhelmingly positive. As of this writing, The Little Mermaid currently holds a 67% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, which is slightly higher than Peter Pan & Wendy, but not as high as 2017’s Beauty and the Beast or 2020’s Mulan. Mixed reviews could’ve also factored into the mixed box office performance, but Disney remakes have historically been able to battle poor critical reception.
The 2019 remakes of Aladdin and The Lion King weren’t well-received by critics, but respectively went on to make over $1 billion in theaters, bolstered by strong international results. While it’s too early to tell how The Little Mermaid will measure up in its total box office run compared to other Disney remakes, it could fall short of making over $1 billion, as the international audience response is much weaker than previous remakes. Time will tell how successful The Little Mermaid will be at the box office as its theatrical run continues.
Source: THR
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