Box Office: ‘The Little Mermaid’ projected to earn $120 Million-Plus Over Memorial Day Weekend
By Ryan Fitzgerald // Entertainment // EEW Magazine Online
Halle Bailey is Ariel in Disney's live action The Little Mermaid. (Disney)
UPDATE: Disney’s live-action take on The Little Mermaid made a big splash at the domestic box office with a three-day opening of $95.5M and a four-day projection of $117.5M. Factoring in the international box office bow of $68.3M, that makes for an estimated $163.8M global debut through Sunday. The film now has the distinction of having the highest opening ever for a film with a Black female lead.
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Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” is projected to rake in big numbers over Memorial Day weekend. The big-budget remake is expected to earn a splashy $100 million from 4,300 North American theaters in its first three days of release and $120 million to $125 million by Monday’s holiday.
If those estimates pan out, this will be 2023’s fourth movie—and the third one from Disney—to pass the $100 million mark in its debut, following “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” ($146 million), “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” ($118 million) and “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” ($106 million).
Rob Marshall directed “The Little Mermaid,” on track to be one of Disney’s more successful live-action adaptations. The studio has revisited classics like “The Lion King,” “Beauty and the Beast” and “Aladdin,” — all of which surpassed $1 billion globally.
(L-R): Jonah Hauer-King as Prince Eric and Halle Bailey as Ariel in The Little Mermaid. (Disney)
“The Little Mermaid” had a budget close to $250 million which increased due to unexpected COVID-related production delays and health and safety costs. Therefore, it will need to do well globally in order to turn a profit. Whatever the numbers, “The Little Mermaid” will take the No. 1 spot on domestic box office charts from Universal’s action-adventure “Fast X” which opened last weekend with $67 million.
“The Little Mermaid” is the beloved story of Ariel, a beautiful and spirited young mermaid with a thirst for adventure. The youngest of King Triton’s daughters and the most defiant, Ariel longs to find out more about the world beyond the sea, and while visiting the surface, falls for the dashing Prince Eric.
"While mermaids are forbidden to interact with humans, Ariel must follow her heart. She makes a deal with the evil sea witch, Ursula, which gives her a chance to experience life on land, but ultimately places her life – and her father’s crown – in jeopardy.”
In Variety’s re, chief film critic Peter Debruge praised the performances of Halle Bailey and Melissa McCarthy, who play Ariel and Ursula, saying that Marshall found “the right actors to reinvent its most iconic roles.”
Halle Bailey as Ariel and Jonah Hauer-King as Prince Eric in The Little Mermaid. (Disney)
“I’m really excited for my version of the film because we’ve definitely changed that perspective of just her wanting to leave the ocean for a boy,” Bailey told Edition magazine. “It’s way bigger than that. It’s about herself, her purpose, her freedom, her life and what she wants.
“As women we are amazing, we are independent, we are modern, we are everything and above,” she added. “And I’m glad that Disney is updating some of those themes.”