When Disney Studios released the original version of The Little Mermaid a week before Thanksgiving in 1989, the animated film made a humbling $6M in opening weekend. The film would go on to earn $84.4M during its 1989 run at theaters.
Over time, the endearing story about a blossoming mermaid princess yearning to live the human life on land became a classic among millennials and their parents. It helped that Disney kept The Little Mermaid alive through VHS and DVD releases, and a limited time re-release in theaters in 1997. The continuous exposure established a formidable impression among viewers, while simultaneously giving Disney the most bang for its IP buck.
More than 30 years since its debut, Disney revived the sea tale as a live action musical starring incomparable singer Halle Bailey as Ariel and actress Melissa McCarthy as Ursula the sea witch. Deemed the “woke” rendition, The Little Mermaid (2023) takes diversity inclusion to higher heights with a cast that represents a spectrum of people.
Although the film did not explicitly detail how Prince Eric, played by Jonah Hauer-King, who appears to be White, is mothered by The Queen, played by Noma Dumezweni, who appears to be Black, or why Ariel’s sisters each represent a different race and ethnicity besides the seven seas explanation surfacing on social media, it’s not the first time Disney has enlisted a rainbow cast.
The 1997 live action retelling of Cinderella, starring singers Brandy and Whitney Houston, along with Paolo Montalban, Bernadette Peters, Jason Alexander, and Whoopi Goldberg, also offered a palette of diversity — often remiss of the social media critiques complaining about The Little Mermaid being “too woke.” They’re about two decades behind the times and luckily for Disney, moviegoers are showing their support at the box office in spite of the label.
The Little Mermaid opened to a little over $38.1M at 4,320 theaters on Friday, May 26. Ticket sales dipped by 21% on Saturday, yet there was still a great turnout of $30.1M. Sunday did not stray too far with $27.3M and Memorial Day added $23.2M to the pot with just a 15% decrease in grosses. The three-day domestic cume totaled $95.6M, add Memorial Day and the domestic cume sails the waves at $118.8M.
As it stands, The Little Mermaid performed pretty well overseas with the numbers hitting the millions in China ($2.5M), France ($3.7M), Germany ($2.5M), Italy ($4.7M), Netherlands ($1.2M), and Spain ($3.3M). Mexico and the United Kingdom were the biggest international markets with $8M and $6.2M, respectively.
The Little Mermaid exceeds $200M worldwide at the time of this report. The Rob Marshall (Chicago) directed pic, written by David Magee (Life of Pi), earned the No. 5 spot for highest grossing Memorial Day opening weekends. The Little Mermaid keeps company with X-Men: The Last Stand (No. 4), Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (No. 3), Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (No. 2), and the record-breaking Top Gun: Maverick (No. 1).
The exceptional performance of Melissa McCarthy as Ursula matched with Halle Bailey’s ethereal singing, especially when she sings the film’s theme song “Part of Your World,” along with Ariel’s wise-cracking friends Sebastian (Daveed Diggs), Flounder (Jacob Tremblay), and Scuttle (Awkwafina), are more than enough reasons to relive this Disney classic.
Be warned. I don’t recommend viewing the film from the perspective of the social media banter fueling the agendas that prohibit the enjoyment of lighthearted entertainment. The Little Mermaid is more like a time machine allowing parents to accompany their children on a journey to a past now evolved.
Watch the Official Trailer of The Little Mermaid
