Live-Action ‘The Little Mermaid’ Remake Wins Big With $118 Million Premiere Weekend

Topline

The Little Mermaid, the highly-anticipated live-action Disney remake, earned the No. 1 spot at the box office this weekend, drawing $118 million in domestic sales in its first weekend in theaters, multiple news outlets reported.

Disney’s live-action remake of ‘The Little Mermaid’ brought in $118 Million in its opening weekend.

Alberto Pezzali/Invision/AP

Key Facts

The Little Mermaid earned an estimated $118 million domestically over the four-day weekend, witn an estimated $96 million coming from weekend sales, though rival studios say the film opened to $120 million-plus weekend, multiple news outlets reported.

The film opened overseas to less enthused crowds bringing in $68.3 million from 51 markets, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

The Little Mermaid brought in an ethnically diverse audience in its opening weekend: 35% of ticket buyers were Black, 33% were white, 23% Latino and 9% Asian, the Hollywood Reporter said.

Surprsing Fact

The Little Mermaid had the fifth highest Memorial Day opening in history, following in the footsteps of fellow remake, Top Gun: Maverick which had the best Memorial Day opening in history last year with a $160.5 million weekend. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull round out the top three best performing films to open on Memorial Day weekend, according to Box Office Mojo.

Big Number

$250 million. That was the film’s production budget, according to IMBD, making a strong opening weekend crucial for those looking to recoup the film’s cost, and then some.

Key Background

The live-action remake comes nearly 35 years after the animated film was first released. The film was directed by Rob Marshall and stars Halle Bailey, Melissa McCarthy, Jonah Hauer-King, Javier Bardem, Awkwafina and Daveed Diggs. Last year when Disney released the trailer showing Bailey, a Black actress and singer, as the star of the live-action film, she and Disney faced backlash over whether Ariel should be Black or white. Some argued increasing diversity made the film less faithful to the original story, but others saw opportunity for young Black girls to see themselves in Bailey’s depiction of the under the sea princess. Initial ticket sales show a large Black audience for the film.The Little Mermaid has a 67% rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, and a 95% score from audiences.

Tangent

Fast X, the tenth installation of the Fast & Furious franchise, took the No. 2 spot this weekend bringing in $23 million over the weekend and $28.7 million over the four-day holiday, according to Variety. Despite those numbers, the film is expected to surpass the $500 million mark at the global box office this weekend. Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3 took the No. 3 spot bringing in $20 million over the weekend and $25.3 million over the four-day holiday, Variety reported, bringing its domestic total to $300 million.